Mercedes Benz-owner Daimler to cut thousands of jobs by 2022 in electric push
German car giant Daimler announced today it plans to slash thousands of jobs worldwide by the end of 2022 as part of its push to electric vehicles.
The cuts are aimed to boost profit margins which have been eroded by investments in electric and self-driving vehicles.
“The automotive industry is in the middle of the biggest transformation in its history,” Daimler said in a statement.
Read more: Daimler to cut thousands of managers to pay for electric cars
Earlier this month, Daimler said it would cut a tenth of all its manager-level workers across the globe, in a bid to slash €1.4bn (£1.2bn) worth of personnel costs.
The German manufacturer said the cuts came as its profit would fall significantly over the next two years because of the shift to electric vehicles.
Daimler and its peers are scrambling to reduce their overall carbon emissions, ahead of strict EU rules which come in next year.
Failure to meet the requirements could result in billions of euros-worth of fines from the EU. Daimler has already warned on profit several times last year, and has spent more than €500m as it gets up to speed on electrification.
Daimler’s announcement comes days after Volkswagen’s luxury car unit Audi said it would cut one in 10 jobs, freeing up billions of euros to fund its shift toward electric vehicle production.
Read more: Daimler in fourth profit warning of the year over airbags and diesel emissions
Carmakers are having to make huge investments into cleaner and self-driving technologies as demand in China, their biggest market, is falling and a trade war between Washington and Beijing is curbing global economic growth.