The Volkswagen Group's crisis has reached Porsche, with the brand recently announcing that it may be forced to lay off 8,000 employees.
At Porsche, management fears that they will be forced to lay off 8,000 employees due to the crisis currently affecting the Volkswagen Group.
Although Porsche has generally experienced satisfactory sales figures in 2024, the situation in the Chinese market, the world's largest car market, is worrying.
Over the past two years, Porsche's sales in China have fallen drastically. In the first nine months of 2024, Porsche sold just 43,000 cars, a 30 percent drop compared to the same period the previous year.
The decline is primarily due to fierce competition from cheaper Chinese car brands. The price of a Porsche is often more than twice as high as the price of competitors' models.
Falling sales figures in China have created uncertainty among Porsche's management. According to German media, frequent meetings are now being held, with the focus on adjusting the company's strategy and reducing costs.
Porsche's CFO, Lutz Meschke, has stated that the company's cost structure must be adjusted to match future annual sales of around 250,000 cars.
As part of this cost reduction, Porsche has already closed 38 dealerships in China. In Germany, costs are expected to be reduced by 20 percent. According to Automobilwoche, this could mean that more than 8,000 of the 42,000 employees are at risk of losing their jobs.
Previously, Porsche had a goal of 80 percent of sales by 2030 coming from electric cars. However, as sales of electric cars have not met expectations, Porsche has changed its strategy.
"We are currently in the middle of making conceptual decisions. What is clear is that we will keep combustion engines for much longer," Lutz Meschke told Automotive News .
