Daimler to cut jobs to save 1b euros by end-2022

[FRANKFURT] Daimler said Thursday it planned to cut jobs to save more than 1 billion euros (S$1.5 billion) by the end of 2022, as the German luxury carmaker grapples with an expensive switch to greener vehicles.

The Mercedes-Benz maker has also been hit by expensive recalls, a slowing global market and a 870-million-euro fine in September for having sold vehicles that did not conform with legal emissions limits.

"By the end of 2022, Mercedes-Benz Cars plans to save more than 1 billion euros in personnel costs. To this end, jobs are to be reduced," the company said in a statement.

"The expanded range of plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles is leading to cost increases that will have a negative impact on Mercedes-Benz Cars' return on sales," it added.

Like its rivals, the Stuttgart-based firm is spending billions in the shift towards the electric, autonomous vehicles of the future.

The German car industry as a whole is confronting weaker-than-expected growth, weighed down by US-China trade conflicts and Brexit uncertainty.

The setbacks pushed Daimler into a net loss of 1.2 billion euros in the second quarter, its first three-month loss in 10 years.

The company did not say how many jobs would be cut.

But the Sueddeutsche Zeitung last week reported, citing an email sent to staff by the group's works council, that it would cut 1,100 management jobs worldwide.

AFP