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Audi says the layoffs, agreed by management and labour representatives, should save the carmaker 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) per year in the medium term.
Audi Layoffs.
German luxury carmaker Audi has said it will cut as many as 7,500 jobs in the European country by 2029 in an effort to improve its flagging profitability. The layoffs, which is roughly 14 per cent of the brand’s German workforce, will mainly affect areas like administration and development.
The layoffs will not affect factory workers, Volkswagen AG’s Audi said on Monday (March 17, 2025). The carmaker plans to invest around €8 billion ($8.7 billion) in its German locations during that period.
The planned measures, agreed on Monday by management and labour representatives, should save the carmaker 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) per year in the medium term, it said, adding it was investing a total of 8 billion euros in its German sites in the coming four years.
The cuts at Audi bring layoffs currently planned across the Volkswagen Group to just under 48,000: VW has unleashed a cost-cutting programme involving 35,000 job cuts, Porsche, plans to cut 3,900 jobs, and software unit Cariad aims to slash around 1,600.
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%.
But the 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. It is reporting its full-year annual results for 2024 on Tuesday.
Audi Chief Executive Officer Gernot Döllner, said, “Audi must become faster, more agile and more efficient… What’s clear is that this won’t be possible without staff adjustments.”
Volkswagen Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume is pushing for cost cuts across the group to become more competitive. Late last year, the CEO struck a deal with unions to cut staff and capacity at the namesake VW brand.
Audi’s deliveries fell 12 per cent last year as the premium carmaker struggled in markets including China. The reductions at the brand will happen without firings.
(With inputs from agencies)