- New boss Michael Leiters has been tasked with turning around the brand.
- Porsche posted a 93 percent decline in operating profit last year.
- Tariffs and an over-commitment to EVs have hurt the company.
Volkswagen isn’t the only one trimming headcount in Europe’s largest automaking group. A new report says Porsche is preparing its own round of job cuts, with the supervisory board having signed off on a wider restructuring package to go along with them.
The German sports car maker is now run by Michael Leiters, who spent just under three years as chief executive of McLaren before taking the job. He replaced Oliver Blume, who had been splitting his attention between the top seats at both VW and Porsche.
Read: Porsche’s Mega SUV Drops EV Plan For V8 Power And An Audi Link
As part of his efforts to turn the company around, Leiters could cut between 5,000 and 6,000 jobs by 2035, in addition to the 3,900 redundancies already announced while Porsche was being helmed by Blume. Reuters reports that plans may be presented to workers next week.
Porsche has long been one of the VW Group’s best-performing brands, consistently posting strong profits thanks to its higher-priced models. However, it posted a 93 percent drop in operating profit last year, triggered in part by the costs associated with international tariffs, in addition to declining sales in China and its overcommitment to electric powertrains.
Earlier this year, Leiters said Porsche would lean more heavily into high-margin models like the 911, while also simplifying its line-up. Importantly, the brand does not intend on boosting volumes as part of its restructuring.
Where Did Things Go Wrong?
Significant amounts of money have been lost on the electric 718 Boxster/Cayman and electric K1 projects. Not only has Porsche walked back its commitment to exclusively build the next-generation Boxster and Cayman as EVs, but its flagship K1 mega SUV will also not be sold solely with an electric powertrain. Instead, it will switch from VW’s Scalable Systems Platform to the Premium Platform Combustion architecture, supporting several V6 and V8 options, as well as numerous hybrids.
