Job Crunch: German car suppliers struggle to adjust to EV shift

Those who bemoan that EVs are rich people's playthings, and have nothing to do with the common (wo)man are missing a trick as they vent and rant. Yes, without doubt we need cheaper EVs for all budgets, and they are coming. The added challenge is that these are invariably coming from non-legacy Auto OEMs such as Tesla, BYD, SAIC and a host of Chinese OEMs. Which further squeezes the legacy OEMs.

What's lost in all of this is that the Auto OEMs are just the tip of an iceberg. Underneath are the Tier one, two and three suppliers. As this graph and article show, these are suffering most, with over 30,000 job losses in Germany alone. Just like the OEMs above them, most were slow to recognise the shift to EV, shared a ‘head in the sand’ mindset, and now suffer the consequences. 

Governments, Auto CEO's and Boards asleep at the wheel have brought this bloodbath onto their own shoulders. Sadly they'll still get their bonuses as their employees get their P45's (or whatever the local equivalent documentation when you are laid off).

Hard to see a positive outcome for European OEMs, which as a former BMW, Merc and Jag driver I lament. Hopefully in some size and guise they can reinvent themselves for an electric future, and save or reemploy some of those workers.

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