AUTONEWS

German automotive industry faces largest job losses since 2005

The German automotive industry, impacted by tariffs and Chinese competition, is experiencing its largest job losses since 2005, with a reduction of 42,300 positions in the first half of the year.

According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), these figures represent a 5.8% drop—the largest recorded among major German industrial sectors with more than 200,000 employees.

"With 691,500 workers, the number of employees in the automotive industry has hit a new low: there have been fewer people working in this sector than at any time since 2005," Destatis stated.

Nevertheless, the automotive industry remains Germany's second-largest industrial sector in terms of employment, trailing mechanical engineering, which employed 905,900 workers at the end of the first half of the year.

Within the automotive industry, both major manufacturers and suppliers of parts and accessories have reduced their workforces.

In contrast, the number of workers among manufacturers of vehicle bodies, structures, and trailers increased by the end of the first half of the year.

Specifically, vehicle and engine manufacturing employed a total of 429,200 workers at the end of the first half of the year, down 6.1% from the previous year.

The number of employees at automakers such as Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz fell by 5.8%... Germany's automotive workforce has shrunk to its lowest level in over two decades as carmakers cut costs in the face of rising competition from Chinese rivals. In the 12-month period ending in June, the German automotive industry lost more jobs than any other industrial sector, the Federal Statistical Office reported on Friday.

The number of workers at automakers like Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz fell by 5.8%—or 42,300 employees, more than double the rate of decline seen in the industrial sector as a whole—hitting its lowest level since 2005.

German automakers are facing increasing pressure from adverse conditions in China, competition from Chinese rivals in global markets, and high domestic production costs.

Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz have lowered their forecasts in recent weeks following weak results in China, the world's largest automotive market. Volkswagen alone plans to cut 100,000 jobs in Germany.

The automotive industry remains the second-largest employer within Germany's industrial sector, trailing only the machinery industry, which had just over 900,000 workers at the end of June, compared to 691,500 in the automotive sector, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

While manufacturers of cars and engines and suppliers of auto parts saw their workforces shrink by 6.1% and 7.6% respectively, the workforce at manufacturers of vehicle bodies and trailers grew by 10%, the data shows.

Lusa Agency