Daimler Layoffs?

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FordAnglia

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Messages
185
Greetings,

I drive a Mercedes Benz B250e as it fits my daily commuter needs well, the fact that it's an MB was secondary to the decision.
While I really enjoy the vehicle, I'm very new to the world of luxury vehicles and the level of care (and expense) for this Marque.

I see Daimler in my news-feed as they consider significant staff reductions. Is this a trend driven by the transition to EVs? Or, the reality of the tough Auto manufacturing business? Is Daimler in particular experiencing a miss-match between their products and market needs?

Recent headlines:

Daimler AG is reportedly considering up to 15,000 layoffs, as reported by German newspaper Handelsblatt.

The German automaker, which owns brands like Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, and Smart, had previously announced it would eliminate at least 10,000 jobs by 2022.

A Daimler spokesperson said the company is "aiming to cut a low five-digit figure of jobs worldwide by the end of 2022" as it looks to reduce roughly $1.5 billion in personnel costs.

The industry is facing tough times, with automakers announcing 80,000 planned jobs cuts in 2019.

Comments Welcome!

Peter,
 
I think it's Daimler coming to the realization that people (generally) aren't buying cars anymore in favor of minivans disguised as small SUV's. I expect more manufacturers to reduce or eliminate cars from their lineups like Ford has done.
 
I also think that we are already starting to witness a trend where next generation of millennials aren't seeing the value in shoving $30-50K (even if they had it) or a big monthly payment into a vehicle. Notice how so many cuteUV's are coming out - trying so hard to attract a younger audience?
 
Hey folks. As someone who has been a part of multiple reduction programs, this announcement is not actually that exciting. Google says Daimler employs close to 300,000 souls so this is a 5% reduction. When someone's stock price is under pressure and the Board feels that action should be taken, a force reduction is one of the favorite tactics to address such concerns. While I am sensitive to putting people on the street, it is not exactly a sign of corporate distress.

That being said, I agree with Peter and Oilerlord that the car industry has to deal with the declining need for car ownership as drive shares take over. Working on a project with an AI enabled driverless car tech company, Ford for one seemed to be planning for more cars being used for drive shares vs being bought by consumers directly.
 
Daimler says part of this is due to one-time costs such as Dieselgate payments. This Tesla podcaster has more in-depth analysis:

https://youtu.be/tbX9sNO_nKw
 
Charles,

Thanks for posting video. Yep, one time charges depress performance so "Lets do a force reduction!" Hooray for us.

Seriously though, Daimler Board and management are under pressure to act. If volumes are down, then the labor costs must be reduced as it is one of the big line items. Forgive us if we don't pare back on the number of models and please don't stop us from investing in EV tech. Boards are in tough positions in any industry that is undergoing a serious change driven by changing consumer habits and regulation to make more eco friendly fleets.
 
hallcp said:
Daimler says part of this is due to one-time costs such as Dieselgate payments. This Tesla podcaster has more in-depth analysis:

Thanks for sharing the linked video, I finally found time to watch it. This analysis doesn't look good for Daimler...

Peter,
 
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