Audi sales dropped 11.8% last year and the company wants to stop bleeding
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- Audi announced its intention to eliminate 7,500 jobs in Germany by 2029.
- The company also aims to reduce bureaucracy and reduce staff costs.
- The brand seems to abandon their EV push only while the opposite winds go up.
Audi and their works council have concluded an agreement which aims to reduce labor costs and increase flexibility in German production sites. The automaker also said that they extended a “employment protection plan until the end of 2033.”
The company has not come into many details, but the rated economic conditions become “increasingly difficult”, while they are also forced to deal with “political uncertainty” and new competition. It is a perfect storm of bad news and it is complicated by the slower adoption than expected on electric vehicles.
Plus: VW confirms more than 35,000 job cuts in Germany, golf production moves to Mexico
Unfortunately, this means cuts, but they will not be as deep as those of Volkswagen. However, Audi still provides for a “socially responsible reduction” of up to 7,500 jobs by 2029.
In addition to eliminating employees, Audi aims to reduce bureaucracy and put renewed accent on their product portfolio. The latter has become a problem because important models, such as Q7, have become expired.
Audi “will also reduce the costs of the staff by adjusting payments above the collective salary agreement and variable payments for employees on a remuneration scale”. The automaker has not spent things, but it seems that managers and the board of directors will take a salary reduction. The car manufacturer has also mentioned a resumed profit sharing program to help the company’s “future”.
With regard to the so-called Employment Protection Plan, Audi will invest around € 8 ($ 8.7 / £ 6.7) billion in Germany until 2029. In Ingolstadt, this will open the way to a new entry-level EV as well as the production of the Redessened Q3, which will also be built in Győr, Hungary.
Audi was tightened on the plans of Neckarsulm, but suggested that “the electronic architecture of combustion motor vehicles will be developed further, considerably increasing their competitiveness”. The company also said they were examining the possibility of building an “additional model” at the factory.
Rainer Schirmer, vice-president of the General Works Council, “said:” We were able to search the two sites.
Audi CEO, Gernot Döllner, said the agreement was a “strong agreement for the future of the company” and which will strengthen their competitiveness. However, he noted “Audi must become faster, more agile and more efficient” and this “cannot be done without staff adjustments”.
Despite the confirmation of the needs of discounts, Döllner said that there would be “no layoffs for operational reasons until the end of 2033. In these difficult economic times, this is good news for all employees.”
While Audi did not enter into detail, Handelsblatt reports that the company aims to save around € 1 ($ 1.1 / £ 0.8) billions per year on their German sites. They also noted that the Neckarsulm factory will built “large electric sedans”, while Ingolstadt could make the A3 – probably in electrical form to judge by the Audi Declaration.
Speaking of production, Audi has a Trump problem because they have no plants in the United States. If the trade war is getting worse, the four -ring brand could settle in the Volkswagen Chattanooga factory.
Audi also seems to have abandoned plans to go only electric. This is a major change because, less than a year ago, they were categorical “we will transform our product portfolio and completely go to electric vehicles. Although the car manufacturer has not really admitted its defeat, it recognized the continuous development of ice vehicles.
