Low point in employment: job cuts in the automotive industry are worsening
The German automotive industry is losing jobs like never before: 42,300 fewer within a year. Employment is also dwindling in other sectors.
The German auto industry has seen a significant decline in jobs, with 691,500 people employed at the end of the first half of 2026, a 5.8% decrease from the previous year. This represents a loss of 42,300 jobs, the lowest number of employees in the sector since 2005, according to the Statistische Bundesamt. The decline was particularly sharp among suppliers of car parts and accessories, with a 7.6% drop in jobs, while car manufacturers themselves lost 6.1% of their jobs.
In contrast, the number of employees in the smaller industry producing car bodies, structures, and trailers rose by 10.0% to 42,800. The automotive industry remains the second-largest industrial sector in Germany, with 905,900 people employed in the machine-building sector.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
