Porsche chief executive Michael Leiters has denied reports that the luxury carmaker plans to cut an additional 4,000 jobs beyond its already-agreed restructuring, according to an internal memo cited by Chinese outlet Gasgoo.
Leiters said the company currently has no plans to reduce a further 4,000 positions and that the existing restructuring programme remains in effect. The statement responds to a report in Germany's Handelsblatt suggesting that Volkswagen Group's supervisory board believed Porsche needed to trim another 4,100 roles on top of the roughly 9,000 already agreed, to close a cost gap of about 700 million euros (about $803.8 million) in management and operations. The report noted that Volkswagen, as parent company, could only recommend such cuts and had no power to enforce them.
In July, Porsche management and worker representatives agreed to cut 5,000 additional jobs on top of 3,900 previously confirmed reductions. By 2035, the Stuttgart-based maker of the 911 sports car will have agreed to cut roughly one-fifth of its total workforce.
Sales slide and EV transition costs
The Stuttgart-based brand, part of the Volkswagen Group, has moved from being the group's profit engine to facing operational difficulties, driven by falling sales in China, US tariffs and the high costs of its electric-vehicle strategy.
In the first half of this year, Porsche's global deliveries fell to 122,306 vehicles from 146,391 in the same period last year. The share of battery-electric (BEV) deliveries dropped to 19.4 percent, down from 23.5 percent a year earlier. Revenue declined 5 percent to 17.23 billion euros (about $19.8 billion), from 18.16 billion euros in the prior-year period.
The company's comments come as the wider industry watches how established luxury brands respond to intensifying competition from Chinese EV makers, which have been expanding aggressively in Europe and other markets. Porsche has been among the European brands most exposed to the shift, with its electric models such as the Taycan facing pressure from newer rivals.
No immediate change to restructuring plan
Leiters' memo appears aimed at reassuring employees that the agreed restructuring remains the framework for the company's cost-saving efforts, and that no further headcount reductions are currently being considered. The clarification follows weeks of speculation about the scale of additional cuts that Volkswagen might push for at its most profitable brand.
Porsche has not issued a public statement beyond the internal memo, according to Gasgoo. The company's struggles highlight the broader challenge facing European automakers as they balance legacy combustion-engine production with costly investments in electric vehicles, while defending market share in China, the world's largest auto market.
