Another blow for Europe's EV revolution: Audi prepares to slash 7,500 jobs as it scrambles to fund 'challenging transition to electric mobility'
Audi will cut up to 7,500 jobs in Germany by 2029, as the premium carmaker becomes the latest European auto industry player to reduce costs.
The Volkswagen-owned manufacturer on Monday announced its new measures, which it said should save the firm 1 billion euros (£842.5 million) per year in the medium term.
'The economic conditions are becoming increasingly tougher, competitive pressure and political uncertainties are presenting the company with immense challenges', Audi said.
A worldwide lack of demand has hit the electrical vehicle industry and in November the boss of Ford's UK arm warned that Britain's car industry is in crisis because of insufficient demand.
The German firm, which is headquartered in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt, added that it was investing a total of 8 billion euros (£6.7 billion) in its German sites in the next four years.
The premium carmaker plans to make a new entry-level electric model at its Ingolstadt plant, and is considering a further model in its second German site of Neckarsulm, it said, a soothing sign for German labour representatives nervous about carmakers opting to produce EVs in cheaper countries.
Gernot Döllner, Audi's chairman, said: 'We are setting Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm up to be robust and flexible for the challenging transition to electric mobility.
'Audi must become faster, more agile, and more efficient. One thing is clear: this cannot be done without personnel adjustments. Together, we will match the personnel measures to the scope.'
Audi will cut up to 7,500 jobs in Germany by 2029, the firm announced Monday
Image shows Audi's headquarters in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany
The German carmaker said the newest measures will save the firm 1 billion euros (£842.5 million) per year. Picture shows Employees of Audi's Brussels plant gather at the main entrance for last time after the production at the factory is completely shut down in Brussels, Belgium on February 28, 2025
The cuts at Audi bring layoffs currently planned across the Volkswagen Group to just under 48,000.
It comes as Volkswagen recently unleashed a cost-cutting programme involving around 35,000 job cuts.
Automobile manufacturer Porsche, also owned by Volkswagen, plans to cut 3,900 jobs, while software unit Cariad aims to slash around 1,600.
The Audi brand has fared poorly in recent years, with its operating margin crashing to 4.5% in the first nine months of 2024 from 7% in the same period of the previous year due to weak sales in its key markets and the cost of ceasing production, opens new tab at its struggling Brussels plant.
Audi has already cut around 9,500 production jobs since 2019, a move it said at the time should free up billions of euros to fund its shift to EVs and boost margins to 9%-11%.
Last month, one of Audi's factories in Brussels shut production for good, costing 3,000 employees their jobs.
The Audi factory was billed as the 'cradle' of the German carmaker's electric drive.
Audi first said it would restructure the plant in July, with suggestions that it was considering an early end to production there sparking huge protests in the following months.
Last month, one of Audi's factories in Brussels shut production for good, costing 3,000 employees their jobs. Employees of Audi's Brussels plant pictured outside factory last month
Workers at the site launched a prolonged strike to try to prevent the closure
The firm gave several factors for closing the Brussels plant, the largest private employer in the Belgian capital.
The company had switched to producing EVs in 2018 after 70 years of making combustion engine models.
But it said a global fall in demand for high-end electric sport utility vehicles (SUVs) had tanked demand for its Q8 e-tron, to which the site was exclusively dedicated.
It also cited long-running structural issues at the former Volkswagen factory, saying it suffered from high logistics and production costs.
Workers at the site launched a prolonged strike to try to prevent the closure, with some blaming Audi for being too slow to make the pivot to electric, and then for focusing on a prohibitively expensive model.
Also this month, Czech car making giant Skoda announced plans to make drastic cuts to keep up with the expensive EV rollout.
Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer told Automobilwoche, a German automotive newspaper, that job cuts will occur because of natural fluctuation.
He said it would 'do Skoda good' to introduce another battery electric vehicle and the Octavia could be a top seller.
