German Auto Sector Lost 50,000 Jobs in 2025 Alone as Works Council Chief Calls for Urgent Crisis Talks
Published on 07/06/2026 at 03:12 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The scale of the crisis gripping Germany’s automotive industry has been laid bare by new figures from the consultancy EY: nearly 50,000 jobs disappeared across the sector in 2025 alone. Since 2019, the cumulative toll has reached 111,000 positions. In response, Frank Sell, head of the works council at Bosch Mobility, is demanding an emergency round table involving employers, unions, and politicians to map out a future for the industry.
“Only a coordinated strategy can save the sector now,” Sell warned, pointing to the wave of cost-cutting programs, threatened plant closures, and unprecedented job reductions sweeping through manufacturers and suppliers alike.
Tens of thousands of Mercedes employees took to the streets on July 3 to protest the company’s austerity plans. The automaker’s net profit for the first quarter of 2026 fell 17 percent to €1.43 billion. Among the savings measures under discussion are longer working hours without extra pay. The IG Metall union has vowed further action, including a car rally in Stuttgart scheduled for July 9.
At Volkswagen, the situation is even more severe. Management is considering shuttering up to four plants in Germany, which could eliminate as many as 100,000 jobs. Union representatives plan to expand their protests beyond Stuttgart to VW sites across the country.
The pain extends to other marquee names. Porsche intends to cut more than 4,000 positions, while BMW – following a profit warning – is targeting 4,000 to 5,000 job reductions. Even the world’s largest automotive supplier, Bosch, has been hit. Despite generating €55.8 billion in revenue from its mobility division, the unit posted its first annual loss in the 2008/09 crisis era in 2025.
Sell’s call for a structured, high-level dialogue reflects a growing sense that isolated company-level measures are insufficient. Without a binding agreement involving all stakeholders, he argued, the industry’s decline will accelerate.
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