Porsche cuts 9,000 jobs and shifts to pricier cars in 2035 turnaround plan

Shift to value over volume

Porsche chief executive Michael Leiters presented a turnaround strategy titled Sportwagenschmiede 2035 at the company's Capital Markets Day in Weissach. Leiters, who took leadership of the carmaker in January, retained the German term to emphasize craftsmanship and entrepreneurship across global markets. The plan reduces Porsche's operational size, establishing a break-even threshold below 200,000 vehicles annually compared to past structures built for 350,000 to 400,000 units. To balance smaller production volumes, Porsche plans to lift the average selling price of its top 10,000 vehicles from 270,000 euros to 330,000 euros by 2030. The proportion of top-end luxury models across the portfolio is scheduled to expand from one-third to 45 percent.

We want to further elevate our positioning, protect the exclusivity of Porsche and gain pricing power.

Workforce reductions and cost cuts

The restructuring requires shrinking Porsche's total workforce by 25 percent by around 2030, eliminating roughly 9,000 positions across direct and indirect operations, with a strategic reduction target of 30 percent. Management positions will decrease by 40 percent. The company's payroll had expanded from roughly 25,000 workers in 2015 to more than 40,000 employees. In summer 2026, management and labor representatives agreed on 5,000 job cuts in the Stuttgart region while excluding compulsory redundancies through 2035, alongside reductions at the Leipzig plant and subsidiary units. Porsche also plans to decrease vehicle development expenditures by up to 20 percent and expand revenue from bespoke customization and classic car restorations sixfold.

Extended combustion engine rollout

Porsche is adjusting its powertrain roadmap by allocating additional capital to internal combustion engines and plug-in hybrid platforms. Conventional and hybrid vehicles are projected to represent approximately 67 percent of deliveries beyond 2030, with three non-electric models under review. The product lineup includes a petrol-powered version of the Macan and a larger luxury SUV in 2028, accompanied by a mid-engine super sports car positioned above the 911. Porsche also demonstrated an electric 718 Boxster prototype fitted with a simulated manual gearbox, driven to 240 kilometers per hour by 79-year-old rally champion Walter Röhrl at the Weissach facility before its planned early 2027 release.

For many Porsche customers around the world, internal combustion engines continue to play an extremely relevant role.

Margin targets and market pressures

The strategy addresses severe earnings contractions and market shifts in China and the United States. In 2025, after-tax earnings fell 91.4 percent to 310 million euros as operating margin dropped to 1.1 percent on deliveries of roughly 280,000 cars, down from 18 percent and 320,000 deliveries in 2023. Porsche shares declined 10 percent in 2026, hitting an all-time low in March, while parent Volkswagen booked a six billion euro impairment on its 75 percent stake in September. Under the new targets, Porsche aims for an operating margin of 10 to 15 percent and a net cash flow margin of 9 to 12 percent by 2030, replacing the 20 percent margin objective set by predecessor Oliver Blume during the 2022 flotation. Porsche expects China to account for 10 percent of deliveries by 2030, down from over a third historically.