Crisis spreads

Car manufacturer Mercedes wants to save billions

The Mercedes plant in Stuttgart

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/uslatar)

The business of the German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz has weakened recently - now the company has announced a cost-cutting program. However, a spokeswoman left open for the time being exactly how the costs are to be reduced.

Savings are already being made on fixed costs, she said. "We are continuing along this path calmly, but extremely consistently." The car manufacturer did not say whether jobs would be cut. However, job security is not in question. This applies to the majority of employees in Germany and excludes compulsory redundancies until the end of 2029.

According to German media reports, the top management swore the management to a stricter austerity course on Wednesday. However, no specific measures were mentioned, according to reports. The aim is to save several billion euros annually in the coming years.

The car manufacturer cites the tense situation in the industry as the reason for this. At the end of October, Mercedes reported a slump in profits for the third quarter: Group earnings fell by more than half compared to the previous year to 1.72 billion euros. Turnover fell by 6.7 percent to 34.5 billion euros. These financial results do not meet the expectations that Mercedes has, said CFO Harald Wilhelm at the time.

The financial results do not meet the expectations that Mercedes has.

Finanzchef Harald Wilhelm

Difficulties in China
The company is currently experiencing difficulties in China in particular. The expensive models with the three-pointed star are not doing as well as expected. However, they are the core element of the CEO's strategy, which has brought in records in recent years. With the economic downturn in China, wealthy customers have become unexpectedly thrifty. In addition, competition from domestic car manufacturers is growing in the country.

VW and Ford, among others, are also experiencing problems.