Forecast: 140,000 jobs in the automotive industry could be lost

Study 140,000 car jobs could be lost by 2035

2024-11-11 Source: dpa 1 min Reading Time

According to a study, 140,000 jobs could be lost in the German automotive industry by the middle of the next decade if the trend remains the same. Jobs in mechanical engineering and metalworking are particularly at risk.

According to the study, professions in mechanical and industrial engineering and metalworking in particular have lost relevance since 2019.(Image: Monkey Business - stock.adobe.com) — According to the study, professions in mechanical and industrial engineering and metalworking in particular have lost relevance since 2019.
(Image: Monkey Business - stock.adobe.com)

According to the survey conducted by the Prognos Institute on behalf of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), a total of 46,000 jobs will be lost between 2019 and 2023. At the same time, the authors point out that there is a high degree of uncertainty with regard to the actual extent. It is clear that individual professions will become more relevant and others less important. In total, almost 911,000 people will be working in the industry in 2023.

"The transition to electromobility will lead to job losses," said VDA President Hildegard Müller. However, this is not first and foremost an expression of a crisis, but part of the transformation, which is being driven to a large extent by the electrification of drive systems.

Electric drive is less complex than a combustion engine

"The political framework conditions determine whether future investments are made in Germany, whether the new projects that are planned are created here with new jobs or elsewhere. The framework conditions can therefore strengthen or dampen the effects on employment." Specifically, Müller called for competitive energy prices, less bureaucracy, fast planning and approval procedures and more free trade agreements.

It is clear that around a third fewer employees are needed because the electrified drive is less complex than the combustion engine, said VDA chief economist Manuel Kallweit. According to the study, there have been particularly high job losses since 2019 in areas where many people are employed.

Occupations in mechanical and industrial engineering and metalworking in particular have lost relevance. In contrast, there was growth in occupations in automotive engineering, technical research and development, IT, electrical engineering and software development.

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