Porsche Is Cutting a Bunch of Jobs Over Weak EV Demand

[John Smyth]

'Porsche Is Cutting a Bunch of Jobs Over Weak EV Demand'
'Slumping sales in China aren't helping, either.'

<https://www.motor1.com/news/750683/porsche-cutting-manufacturing-job/>

'It's no secret that Volkswagen Group is having a tough time right now.
With 2024 fading in the rearview and all kinds of uncertainly facing
automakers for the future, Porsche, one of VW's most important brands,
is looking to downsize. Considerably.

The automaker is planning to cut 1,900 jobs over the next few years at
various locations throughout Germany, according to Reuters. Citing a
company spokesperson, the report states Porsche's previous reduction
plan simply wasn't sufficient enough. Last year, the sports car maker
didn't renew contracts for 1,500 fixed-term workers, and 500 more are
about to end.

The new plan will "cut around another 1,900 jobs across the entire
company in the coming years," the spokesperson said.

Attention will fall on Porsche's primary facilities in and around
Stuttgart. Ideally, the company hopes to accomplish the cuts without
forced layoffs. Per Automotive News Europe, buyout packages and early
retirements will play a major factor. Porsche will also be frugal when
it comes to filling new roles. Workers at the large factory in
Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and its research facility in Weissach will bear
the brunt of the cuts.

The news comes not long after VW's struggle to not close factories in
Germany, something that hasn't been done in the company's history.
Ultimately, a deal was struck to keep the lights on at all current
plants in return for no wage increases for workers until 2031. However,
job cuts at VW could top 35,000 before all is said and done.

A slump in EV sales throughout Europe and fierce competition from China
has several automakers reviewing their bottom lines. Porsche's global
sales fell 3 percent last year, but sales in China tumbled 28 percent.
And of course, there's considerable uncertainty in the automotive market
right now with regard to tariffs and trade wars stemming from the Trump
administration. In short, nobody knows what the hell is going on right
now, or what's going to happen in the future'

[pothead]

Post by John Smyth
'Porsche Is Cutting a Bunch of Jobs Over Weak EV Demand'
'Slumping sales in China aren't helping, either.'
<https://www.motor1.com/news/750683/porsche-cutting-manufacturing-job/>
'It's no secret that Volkswagen Group is having a tough time right now.
With 2024 fading in the rearview and all kinds of uncertainly facing
automakers for the future, Porsche, one of VW's most important brands,
is looking to downsize. Considerably.
The automaker is planning to cut 1,900 jobs over the next few years at
various locations throughout Germany, according to Reuters. Citing a
company spokesperson, the report states Porsche's previous reduction
plan simply wasn't sufficient enough. Last year, the sports car maker
didn't renew contracts for 1,500 fixed-term workers, and 500 more are
about to end.
The new plan will "cut around another 1,900 jobs across the entire
company in the coming years," the spokesperson said.
Attention will fall on Porsche's primary facilities in and around
Stuttgart. Ideally, the company hopes to accomplish the cuts without
forced layoffs. Per Automotive News Europe, buyout packages and early
retirements will play a major factor. Porsche will also be frugal when
it comes to filling new roles. Workers at the large factory in
Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and its research facility in Weissach will bear
the brunt of the cuts.
The news comes not long after VW's struggle to not close factories in
Germany, something that hasn't been done in the company's history.
Ultimately, a deal was struck to keep the lights on at all current
plants in return for no wage increases for workers until 2031. However,
job cuts at VW could top 35,000 before all is said and done.
A slump in EV sales throughout Europe and fierce competition from China
has several automakers reviewing their bottom lines. Porsche's global
sales fell 3 percent last year, but sales in China tumbled 28 percent.
And of course, there's considerable uncertainty in the automotive market
right now with regard to tariffs and trade wars stemming from the Trump
administration. In short, nobody knows what the hell is going on right
now, or what's going to happen in the future'

What type of a Nimrod would buy an electric Porsche?

[-hh]

Post by pothead

Post by John Smyth
'Porsche Is Cutting a Bunch of Jobs Over Weak EV Demand'
'Slumping sales in China aren't helping, either.'
<https://www.motor1.com/news/750683/porsche-cutting-manufacturing-job/>
'It's no secret that Volkswagen Group is having a tough time right now.
With 2024 fading in the rearview and all kinds of uncertainly facing
automakers for the future, Porsche, one of VW's most important brands,
is looking to downsize. Considerably.
The automaker is planning to cut 1,900 jobs over the next few years at
various locations throughout Germany, according to Reuters. Citing a
company spokesperson, the report states Porsche's previous reduction
plan simply wasn't sufficient enough. Last year, the sports car maker
didn't renew contracts for 1,500 fixed-term workers, and 500 more are
about to end.
The new plan will "cut around another 1,900 jobs across the entire
company in the coming years," the spokesperson said.
Attention will fall on Porsche's primary facilities in and around
Stuttgart. Ideally, the company hopes to accomplish the cuts without
forced layoffs. Per Automotive News Europe, buyout packages and early
retirements will play a major factor. Porsche will also be frugal when
it comes to filling new roles. Workers at the large factory in
Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and its research facility in Weissach will bear
the brunt of the cuts.
The news comes not long after VW's struggle to not close factories in
Germany, something that hasn't been done in the company's history.
Ultimately, a deal was struck to keep the lights on at all current
plants in return for no wage increases for workers until 2031. However,
job cuts at VW could top 35,000 before all is said and done.
A slump in EV sales throughout Europe and fierce competition from China
has several automakers reviewing their bottom lines. Porsche's global
sales fell 3 percent last year, but sales in China tumbled 28 percent.
And of course, there's considerable uncertainty in the automotive market
right now with regard to tariffs and trade wars stemming from the Trump
administration. In short, nobody knows what the hell is going on right
now, or what's going to happen in the future'

What type of a Nimrod would buy an electric Porsche?

Same that would buy an ICE ... and are fine with an EV but have also
seen how utterly crappy the build quality is on the Tesla's. /s


-hh

[chrisv]

Post by -hh

Post by pothead
What type of a Nimrod would buy an electric Porsche?

Same that would buy an ICE ... and are fine with an EV but have also
seen how utterly crappy the build quality is on the Tesla's. /s

Maybe. I really wonder about companies like Ferrari and Lamborghini,
where it's really all about the engine. As an EV, they won't be able
to differentiate themselves from far cheaper alternatives.

[-hh]

Post by chrisv

Post by -hh

Post by pothead
What type of a Nimrod would buy an electric Porsche?

Same that would buy an ICE ... and are fine with an EV but have also
seen how utterly crappy the build quality is on the Tesla's. /s

Maybe. I really wonder about companies like Ferrari and Lamborghini,
where it's really all about the engine. As an EV, they won't be able
to differentiate themselves from far cheaper alternatives.

The EV market is an interesting one to be sure. As it intersects with
the automotive enthusiast, it seems to me that there's two distinct
customer segments. I'll call them:

a) techno-geeks/nerds ... they desire the newest stuff & are willing to
pay for it. Why? Maybe because its flashy/novel, or it has impressive
performance numbers. An example is the EV buyer who's 0-60mph is <3sec.

b) heritage/traditionalist ... they're appreciative of the long
history, of engineering & motor. Think of the type who had issues when
turbos got introduced - they preferred normally aspirated. They will
eventually embrace new technologies, but are more conservative about it
proving itself first. They're willing to pay more for a 'heritage'
marquee.

FWIW, Jaguar is an example where they touched the third rail of trying
to satisfy both heritage and techno-geek at the same time.

Personally, I've looked at the tech and concluded that it is good enough
for early adopters and even some early mainstream, but from a sober
lifecycle management perspective, trade spaces need to be resolved still
before I'd really be comfortable in giving up on ICE entirely; call it
a "check back in 3, 5 years" before the political disruptions are added.


-hh

[Physfitfreak]

Post by -hh
Personally, I've looked at the tech and concluded that it is good enough
for early adopters and even some early mainstream, but from a sober
lifecycle management perspective, trade spaces need to be resolved still
 before I'd really be comfortable in giving up on ICE entirely; call it
a "check back in 3, 5 years" before the political disruptions are added.

Perhaps they have a fear of Nio. China may do to them in the EV industry
what Japan did to them with durable cheap ICE cars.

Nio's stocks aren't reflecting this though, but it is too soon to judge
from stocks alone. As soon as trade war with China is settled, Nio
stocks may skyrocket, and this might be the very reason there's a trade
war with China in the first place.

If Nio cars aren't as good as the competitors' yet, it will soon be.
This is something I can reckon with. And that would leave only a trade
war to protect the competition.

[chrisv]

Post by -hh
Personally, I've looked at the tech and concluded that it is good enough
for early adopters and even some early mainstream, but from a sober
lifecycle management perspective, trade spaces need to be resolved still
before I'd really be comfortable in giving up on ICE entirely; call it
a "check back in 3, 5 years" before the political disruptions are added.

I will never buy an electric car. I may never buy another car,
period. My current car is 10 years old but has an easy 10 years of
life left. I'll probably drop dead before it does.

[-hh]

Post by chrisv

Post by -hh
Personally, I've looked at the tech and concluded that it is good enough
for early adopters and even some early mainstream, but from a sober
lifecycle management perspective, trade spaces need to be resolved still
before I'd really be comfortable in giving up on ICE entirely; call it
a "check back in 3, 5 years" before the political disruptions are added.

I will never buy an electric car.

I'm willing to buy an EV, although I'd consider it to be more of a
'transportation appliance' than a driver/enthusiast-centric ride.

I thought about it early last year, but found that the infrastructure
lacked adequate standards, and current iterations are poor from an
interior UI perspective ... research is documenting the obvious:
touchscreens are fine when sitting in a showroom, but are inferior to
buttons in the dynamics of a moving cabin.

Post by chrisv
I may never buy another car, period. My current car is 10 years old but
has an easy 10 years of life left. I'll probably drop dead before it does.

YMMV; I'm far more optimistic. I expect at least another decade of
independent driving, at which point I'm hoping that FSD will finally be
technologically mature & reliable enough to enable us to maintain
suburban independent living well into my 80s.

-hh

[pothead]

Post by chrisv

Post by -hh

Post by pothead
What type of a Nimrod would buy an electric Porsche?

Same that would buy an ICE ... and are fine with an EV but have also
seen how utterly crappy the build quality is on the Tesla's. /s

Maybe. I really wonder about companies like Ferrari and Lamborghini,
where it's really all about the engine. As an EV, they won't be able
to differentiate themselves from far cheaper alternatives.

Those are all cars that appeal to car enthusiasts. Much like Corvette, Mustang,
Supra, BMW etc the market is people who like to drive and tinker with their cars.
I don't know the demographics but aside from the super cars which require deep
pockets to buy and maintain there is probabably a good portion of boomers
reliving their teens and buying the cars that they might have been able to
buy way back when.

Putting an electric motor in cars like the above will not interest this market share.
It's like driving a sewing machine and while the speed is surely there, the rest
of the experience has no soul.
It's like driving a sewing machine.
Test drive a Tesla sometime and see for yourself.
I did. Fine for some people , not for me.

[chrisv]

Post by pothead
Those are all cars that appeal to car enthusiasts. Much like Corvette, Mustang,
Supra, BMW etc the market is people who like to drive and tinker with their cars.
I don't know the demographics but aside from the super cars which require deep
pockets to buy and maintain there is probabably a good portion of boomers
reliving their teens and buying the cars that they might have been able to
buy way back when.

There are still a lot of great gas-powered cars, for sure. If I was
younger I'd probably get one while the getting is good. I still have,
in addition to my main car, a sports car with a manual transmission.
It's getting pretty old now, though, and accually appreciating to a
point where it's a bit concerning to drive. If something were to
happen to it, parts availability would be a real problem.

Post by pothead
Putting an electric motor in cars like the above will not interest this market share.
It's like driving a sewing machine and while the speed is surely there, the rest
of the experience has no soul.
It's like driving a sewing machine.
Test drive a Tesla sometime and see for yourself.
I did. Fine for some people , not for me.

Another problem with the EV's is that they are boring to read about.
The car magazines that I loved to read (and still do, to some extent)
are not as interesting as they used to be. There's not much to say
about an EV's hardware. They don't have the interesting mechanical
engineering of the ICE cars.