German auto industry has fewest workers since 2005

Job cuts are accelerating in the German automotive industry. At the end of the first half of 2026, the sector employed about 691.5 thousand people – the lowest since 2005.

According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, Destatis, the number of employees in the automotive industry fell by approximately 42.3 thousand, or 5.8%, over the year.

The auto industry is losing jobs significantly faster than German industry as a whole. In the entire manufacturing sector, employment decreased by 2.7% over the same period – to 5.29 million people.

Despite the cuts, the automotive industry remains the second-largest industrial sector in Germany by number of employees. Only mechanical engineering employs more people – about 905.9 thousand.

Suppliers lose the most workers

The steepest cuts hit companies that manufacture automotive parts and components. In this segment, the number of employees fell by 7.6% over the year.

Directly at vehicle manufacturers, employment shrank by 6.1%. Meanwhile, the small segment of body, superstructure, and trailer production bucked the general trend: employment there rose by 10% – to about 42.8 thousand.

Job cuts in the German auto industry have been ongoing for several years. Companies are simultaneously restructuring production for electric vehicles, reducing costs, and trying to adapt to weaker demand and intensifying competition.

In particular, large German automakers and suppliers have already announced extensive savings programs. Volkswagen plans to significantly reduce its workforce in Germany by 2030, and other manufacturers and suppliers have also reported cuts.

Earlier, “Kurs Ukrainy” wrote that the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) had warned of a risk of losing up to 225 thousand jobs in the sector by 2035. According to the association, from 2019 to 2025 the German auto industry had already lost about 100 thousand employees.

The new statistics show that the cuts continued into 2026. In terms of employment decline, the automotive industry is currently one of the hardest-hit among the large industrial sectors of Europe’s largest economy.

Based on materials from: Destatis, Der Standard