Mercedes-Benz confirmed this Friday that it has initiated a layoff process that could affect up to 15% of the workers of the German automotive manufacturer in China, due to a decline in sales caused by strong competition from local brands.
Chinese media reports that the layoffs will primarily affect the finance and sales departments, and that the decision to reduce the workforce has been confirmed by a spokesperson for Mercedes in China.
“In the face of a challenging market environment and transformation opportunities in the automotive industry, Mercedes-Benz is actively adjusting its business to continuously improve operational efficiency and market competitiveness”, the company told the Chinese newspaper “The Paper.”
Mercedes-Benz China adds that “the adjustments aim to optimize and simplify business processes and organizational structures to keep the company’s operations strong and resilient and to improve operational efficiency.”
It should be noted that last year, Mercedes-Benz’s revenue in China fell by 8.5% compared to 2023, due to a 7.3% decrease in passenger car sales and a 19.7% drop in commercial vehicle sales.
China is the largest market for the German brand, with more passenger vehicle sales than Europe as a whole, so these numbers have impacted the overall results, which show a global revenue decline of 4.5% and a 3% and 9.4% decrease in passenger and commercial vehicle sales, respectively.
