Porsche faces further 5,000 job cuts – investors bet on falling prices

Restructuring of production

In addition to job cuts, a restructuring of production structures is also on the agenda. As reported by Handelsblatt, all plants and departments "die auf eine Kapazität bis zu 400.000 Autos eingestellt sind, … nun auf ein Volumen in Richtung 200.000 orientieren" sollen. At the same time, Christian Fried will become the new head of production, according to information from Manager Magazin.

The company's economic situation is tense. In the first half of 2026, Porsche delivered 122,306 vehicles, 16 percent fewer than in the same period the previous year. In China, the world's largest car market, the company is at risk of remaining below the 30,000 delivery mark. Porsche managers are already referring to this internally as "Liebhabervolumen."

Sales crisis in China and US tariffs

Added to this are burdens from US business due to tariffs. "Im Gegensatz zu BMW und Mercedes hat Porsche in den USA kein eigenes Werk," Handelsblatt writes. The company has already revised its return expectations downward: "Vom 20-Prozent-Ziel hat sich Porsche verabschiedet"; at the annual general meeting in June, an operating return target of between ten and 15 percent was set.

Investors bet on falling prices

The crisis is clearly reflected in the financial markets. "Jede vierte frei handelbare Porsche-Aktie ist im Moment ein Leerverkauf," Handelsblatt reports, citing Bank of America data. This means more investors are betting on falling prices than with any other European carmaker. Since its IPO in 2022, the Stuttgart-based sports car maker's stock has lost around 45 percent of its value, and Porsche AG must leave the DAX.

Impact on the workforce

For employees, the crisis is increasingly hitting their wallets as well. "Für das Geschäftsjahr 2025 haben Porsche-Mitarbeiter erstmals keine Sonderzahlung erhalten," dpa reports. While Christmas bonuses were voluntarily increased to up to 100 percent of a month's salary; in 2023, there had still been a bonus of up to 9,690 euros.

The "Zukunftspaket" also provides for provisions meant to accommodate employees. For instance, there should be more home office again, according to the company. Additionally, retaining the so-called Steinkühler break, which shortens the weekly working hours in production by almost three hours, is under discussion – though only in the collective bargaining region of Northern Württemberg/Northern Baden.

Porsche CEO Leiters had already announced in March that he wanted to make the company significantly leaner and intensify existing programs. The new leadership team is also to be in place by October, after Tobias Sühlmann was appointed as the new design chief in February. Three Porsche subsidiaries with a combined workforce of around 500 employees are also to be closed.

A Porsche spokesperson declined to comment further on the contents of the package and referred to the ongoing process: "Jetzt gilt es die letzten Schritte zu finalisieren." This leaves open, until the employee assembly on Monday, the concrete extent to which jobs in administration and development will be cut.