According to a study, around 19,000 jobs were deleted in the German auto industry. This may only be the beginning, warns the consulting company EY.
The ongoing crisis in the auto industry leaves significant traces in the labor market in Germany. Around 19,000 jobs were lost last year, as can be seen from a study by the consulting company EY.
According to this, a little more than 761,000 people were employed in the German auto industry at the end of 2024. That is the lowest level since 2013. A year earlier, there were around 780,000. In 2018, the industry still comprised 834,000 jobs. According to EY, EY has analyzed current figures from the Federal Statistical Office and the Employment Agency. Companies working in Germany from a size of 50 employees were examined.
“The German automotive industry is in a massive and comprehensive crisis,” explains EY car expert Constantin Gall. The problems ranged from a weak demand due to the ongoing economic crisis to too high costs to the expensive coexistence of burners and electric cars. In particular, the investments in electromobility have devoured high sums without the desired market successes. Added to this is the broken Chinese market.
Corporations have to reduce costs
According to the EY experts, the manufacturers have to deal with a variety of challenges, and only some of these problems could solve them on their own. “Therefore, we will see this year that the car companies will massively turn the cost screw to increase their resistance. This will inevitably lead to clear cuts in employment,” said Gall. The relatively low job cuts last year is only the beginning of a painful but inevitable shrinking process.
Productions to the USA or China are quite likely to be relevant to the USA or China in view of the latest geopolitical developments. “That would significantly accelerate the job cuts in this country,” said industry expert Gall. However, the problems in the companies have now been clearly recognized. In this respect, there is definitely hope that the car manufacturers could achieve higher margins again in the medium term. However, it is not enough with cost reduction measures.
“For many suppliers, the air is getting thinner”
With a view to the recent very weak development of the suppliers, the expert expected another strong job cuts. “For many suppliers, the air is getting thinner, especially the stag -end ride of electromobility, the margin is considerably stressing,” said Gall.
According to the study, the sales of the auto industry in Germany shrank by five percent last year after they had always grown in the three years before. In 2024, sales were 536 billion euros. Most recently, numerous well -known manufacturers and suppliers from Germany have announced savings programs. In total, tens of thousands should be lost in the next few years-be it with manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen core brand VW or with suppliers such as Bosch, ZF, Schaeffler or Continental.
