WDK call to stem 410k automotive job losses

Frankfurt, Germany – German automotive makers and suppliers are facing of up to 410,000 job cuts, a federal government-commissioned report on the impact of e-mobility on employment has warned.

The findings of the the National Platform Future of Mobility (NPM) study has led German rubber industry association the WDK to call for political measures to address current trends in the automotive industry. 

"We cannot accept the emerging job cuts in the German automotive industry as inevitable,” said Boris Engelhardt, chief executive of the WDK, which represents 160 companies with around 75,000 employees in the tire & elastomer-product manufacturing sector.

Calling for a more enlightened approach to regulating mobility, Engelhardt said “the sole focus on battery drives is not suitable to solve the climate policy challenges in a technically and socially balanced manner.”

And with “job cuts are already in full swing at automotive suppliers,” the WDK leader said: "We urgently need political support based on factual arguments instead of populism for the automotive industry and especially for the medium-sized automotive suppliers.” 

This, said Engelhardt was “not about promoting industry at the expense of the environment. Rather, it is about objective sustainability and the social stability of Germany.”