Daimler Truck: 5,000 job cuts by 2030 – social solutions planned!

Daimler Truck: 5,000 job cuts by 2030 – social solutions planned!

There is a lot of rumblings in the automotive industry: Daimler Truck has made its plans public and announced significant staff cuts. Around 5,000 jobs are to be cut in Germany by 2030 in order to make truck production more profitable. This plan was announced during a capital markets day in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is forced to take measures to meet the increasing challenges and reduce costs by over one billion euros, as tagesschau.de reports.

The truck division, which is expected to have around 28,000 employees at the end of 2024, is particularly affected. The main locations are in Gaggenau, Kassel, Mannheim, Stuttgart and Wörth, the latter being the largest assembly plant for trucks. Overall, Daimler Truck operates in Germany with around 35,500 employees. In order to make the job cuts as socially acceptable as possible, the company is relying on natural fluctuation and partial retirement. Targeted severance programs are also being planned to enable the affected employees to leave the company appropriately.

Social responsibility in focus

A central point of the announced measures is the agreement with the general works council, which was reached in May 2025. This stipulates that no operational dismissals will be made until the end of 2034. In doing so, Daimler Truck wants to ensure that the workforce reduction takes place without massive pressure on employees. CEO Karin Radström also sets the goal of achieving an adjusted profit margin of over 12 percent in the industrial business, which hardly seems possible without a certain amount of cost reduction.

German industry is under pressure: sales fell by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2023 and the automotive sector is struggling with the most job losses. According to ecomento.de, around 45,400 jobs were cut in this sector alone in one year. This accounts for almost half of the total 101,000 jobs lost in German industry. The negative trend in the automotive industry could even continue until the end of the year, with estimates of at least 70,000 more job losses.

The path to a more profitable future

The “Cost Down Europe” savings program announced in July 2025 covers not only production, but also central areas such as administration and sales. Daimler Truck would like to respond to the changed market conditions and significantly increase profitability in Europe. These measures are part of a larger trend in the automotive industry, which is geared to the challenges of the time: digitalization, climate change and a rapidly changing market environment require quick action.

The next few years will be crucial to see whether this strategy can work. Daimler Truck is required to react to the rapid changes and position itself for the future - the trade fairs for this are clear: through innovative products, economic efficiency and a committed workforce. The coming months remain exciting, and it will be important to see how the company overcomes these challenges.