STUTTGART (dpa-AFX) - Struggling sports car manufacturer Porsche AG intends to refocus on its core business and is closing three subsidiary companies. The battery subsidiary Cellforce, eBike Performance GmbH, and the software unit Cetitec are to be discontinued, as announced by the Stuttgart-based company. The decision was reached by the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board.
In total, approximately 500 employees are affected. Only two weeks ago, Porsche announced its intention to sell its stake in the luxury sports car manufacturer Bugatti, among other measures.
According to CEO Michael Leiters, Porsche must refocus on its core business. This is the indispensable foundation for a successful strategic realignment. 'This forces us to make painful cuts - including at our subsidiaries,' Leiters stated. It was initially unclear by when the subsidiaries would be wound down.
Cellforce had already ceased battery production in 2025
Only last August, the VW subsidiary announced job cuts at Cellforce, based in Kirchentellinsfurt, Baden-Württemberg. According to previous information from the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, more than two-thirds of the 280 employees were affected at that time. The battery subsidiary was originally intended to focus on research and development in the future.
The reason for the move was a shift in strategy - away from ambitious electric vehicle targets and back toward more internal combustion engines. As part of the strategic realignment with a technology-neutral powertrain strategy, there is no longer a sufficiently viable outlook for Cellforce, Porsche now stated. Around 50 employees are affected by the job cuts.
Porsche eBike Performance GmbH was originally founded to develop e-bike drive systems. According to the company, activities are being discontinued due to fundamentally changed market conditions. The closure of operations at the Ottobrunn and Zagreb sites affects around 350 employees. At the software firm Cetitec, based in Pforzheim, approximately 60 employees in Germany and 30 in Croatia are affected by the planned liquidation. Management there will initiate talks with the works council.
Negotiations on extensive job cuts
Porsche CEO Leiters had already announced extensive further job cuts during his first public appearance in March - in addition to an initial package. By 2029, around 1,900 positions in the Stuttgart region are already set to be eliminated through socially responsible measures. Additionally, the contracts of approximately 2,000 temporary employees have expired. Negotiations regarding a second austerity package have been ongoing for some time, so far without result./jwe/DP/men
