German car sector job losses to exceed forecasts, industry warns

Germany's automotive industry is expected to lose about 35,000 more jobs than previously forecast, the head of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) told the RND media group.

"We unfortunately now have to assume, based on current calculations, that 225,000 jobs will be lost by 2035," VDA president Hildegard Müller said in comments published on Wednesday.

About 100,000 jobs had already been lost between 2019 and 2025, she added. The VDA had previously forecast that 190,000 jobs would be cut between 2019 and 2035.

Suppliers are expected to be hit particularly hard as the shift from combustion-engine vehicles to electric mobility leads to significant job losses in the supplier sector, Müller said.

She also blamed what she described as a "serious and persistent competitiveness crisis" in Germany and Europe for the worsening outlook.

"Conditions are deteriorating noticeably," Müller said, citing high taxes and levies, expensive energy, high labour costs and excessive bureaucracy among the challenges facing the industry.