This past Friday Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler announced it is cutting 10,000 jobs across the globe over the next three years. The news caused a shockwave in the industry and particularly among employees of the automotive company.
And unfortunately, it is just the latest in what has become an industry-wide trend. Other companies have similarly taken the axe to its workforce in order to reduce expenses and give themselves the means to invest in the development of electric and other new technologies such as autonomous drive systems.
The cuts at Daimler represent 3% of the company’s current workforce, and they come after a negotiated agreement between the automaker and the unions representing workers. In the past week, there have been three separate cost-cutting measures announced by a German car manufacturer.
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Most of the jobs being cut are in Germany itself, and the mejoriy of workers affected will be offered severance packages or early retirement.
With this move, the company hopes to redcue costs by $1.1 billion Euros by the end of 2022. Of the 10,000 jobs being cut, about 1,100 are management-level, which is 10% of the current management workforce.
"The automotive industry is in the middle of the biggest transformation in its history."
- Daimler statement
Of that, there is little doubt. The next decade will be transformative for the car industry and mark a turning point in automotive history, and that’s true whether you like what you see looming on the horizon or not.
Stay tuned.