Audi faces tough times: 7,500 job cuts and 33% decline in profits!

Audi faces tough times: 7,500 job cuts and 33% decline in profits!

In 2024, the car manufacturer Audi experienced a dramatic slump in profits of 33 percent, which pushed its after-tax profit to just 4.2 billion euros. The challenges, which Audi boss Gernot Döllner described as a true “year of transition,” were compounded by weak demand and aggressive price wars in China. In addition, internal problems, such as inadequate parts supply and high provisions for the closure of the Brussels factory, weighed on the balance sheet. The core brand's sales have already fallen by almost 8 percent to 64.5 billion euros, which clearly shows that Audi is struggling with significant difficulties, while the group's three smaller brands, especially Lamborghini, are successful with higher margins, as reported in the report vienna.at can be read.

Austerity measures and job cuts

In response to the financial problems, Audi announced that it would cut up to 7,500 jobs in Germany by 2029 without issuing any redundancies. In addition, structured employee participation will be changed and temporarily reduced, which should lead to annual savings of at least one billion euros. The details of the implementation of these measures are based on an agreement with the employee side and still need to be fleshed out, while the results for 2024 are already burdened by the cuts in employee participation. The amount fell from 8,840 euros in the previous year to just 5,310 euros for a skilled worker, like nau.ch reported.

The industry as a whole is suffering similar difficulties, with rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz also seeing declines. While BMW suffered a 37 percent decline to 7.7 billion euros and Mercedes-Benz fell 28 percent to 10.4 billion euros, Audi falls short of these results and continues to face a highly competitive market.