The cuts represent about 10% of Bosch’s total workforce in the country, and 3% of its staff worldwide. Workers’ representatives vowed to resist the cuts, labelling them ‘unprecedented.’
German industrial giant Bosch said Thursday, September 25, it would cut 13,000 jobs, mostly in its auto unit, in the latest blow for the country’s ailing car sector.
The auto industry in Europe’s biggest economy has been hammered by fierce competition in key market China, weak demand and a slower than expected shift to electric vehicles.
The cuts, all of which will take place in Germany, represent about 10% of Bosch’s total workforce in the country, and 3% of its staff worldwide.
Bosch − the world’s biggest auto supplier, making everything from braking and steering systems to sensors − said the layoffs were needed to help make annual savings of €2.5 billion in the group’s car unit.
Germany has a 3.7% unemployment rate, which is going up a bit, but that is quite far away from mass unemployment Germany faced when Hitler took over.
This is just the combination of EV taking over and general lower car sales hitting the industry hard. It has to happen and is honestly a good thing long term. Other sectors of the economy are doing okay and baby boomers are retiring, so the work force is shrinking anyway. The situation is not even close to what happened in Germany when Hitler took over.