Porsche to Close 3 Subsidiaries, 500 Job Losses

Porsche AG announced Friday that it will shut down three subsidiaries, resulting in more than 500 job losses across Germany and Croatia, as the German sports car maker refocuses on its core automotive business amid declining sales and shifting market conditions.

The closures target Porsche eBike Performance GmbH in Ottobrunn, which developed high-performance electric bike drive systems and included the Fazua motor brand acquired in 2022; Cellforce Group GmbH in Kirchentellinsfurt, a battery technology unit; and Cetitec GmbH in Pforzheim, a software developer for data communication serving Porsche and the Volkswagen Group. The move will affect around 360 employees at the eBike unit's sites in Ottobrunn and Zagreb, about 50 at Cellforce and roughly 90 at Cetitec. The cuts represent approximately 1 percent of Porsche's global workforce of 42,000.

Porsche cited fundamentally changed market conditions for ebike systems, a technology-open powertrain strategy that reduces reliance on in-house battery development and evolving software demands as reasons for the decision. The eBike Performance division, launched in 2022 alongside acquisitions like a majority stake in Fazua and an...