German truck maker Daimler Trucks, one of the leading companies globally in the sector, has announced that it will cut 5,000 jobs in its homeland, Germany, by 2030 to become more market resilient and improve its profitability. In Germany, the company employs around 35,500 employees, of whom around 28,000 in its Stuttgart hub.
Sluggish economic conditions in Germany, coupled with rising energy and logistics costs, are contributing factors to the plans to relocate parts of its production to “countries with cost advantages.”
Week results in crucial US market
The restructuring plans were announced by Daimler Truck Holding AG (Daimler Truck), which hosted its Capital Market Day 2025 at the Truck Manufacturing Plant in Cleveland, North Carolina, USA.
This production facility, where it produces under the name Trucks North America its flagship Freightliner Cascadia and Western Star 47X and 49X models, “was selected to highlight the pivotal role of the company’s US operations as an integral part of its global strategy.”
However, Daimler Truck posted particularly weak results in its crucial US market in Q2 2025, with a 20% decline for its Trucks North America division, selling 38,580 trucks recently, or approximately 10,000 fewer than in the same period last year. That’s still a little more than 38,294 for Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Europe, where sales stagnated.
Daimler Truck Group as a whole sold 106,117 vehicles, 99,688 trucks, and 7,027 buses, of which 1,232 were battery-electric. But the overall total is -5% less than in Q2 2024.
Significant job reduction
In a press release, the truckmaker says, “After delivering strong results in 2023, recent profitability has shown that the segment needs to become more resilient, fully utilizing brand strengths, pricing power, and scale. With the Cost Down Europe efficiency program, the Company aims to set Daimler Truck in Europe up for success and to deliver more than €1 billion in cost savings in Europe by 2030.”
“The comprehensive and detailed restructuring plan covers six core cost reduction areas. The plan includes a shift of production volume to a best-cost country and further measures, leading to a significant job reduction in Germany by 2030.”
“Following the agreement recently made with the Works Council, the Company will utilize natural attrition and expanded early retirement options to reduce positions in a socially responsible manner as well as offer targeted severance packages.”
No compulsory redundancies until 2034
Daimler Truck adds a commitment to avoid compulsory redundancies until the end of 2034. The cuts will affect five German plants: Gaggenau, Kassel, Mannheim, Stuttgart, and Wörth, which is Europe’s largest truck assembly plant. It produces a wide range of trucks, including the Actros, Arocs, and Atego.
Daimler Trucks has no plants in Belgium, where some of its major competitors, such as Volvo Trucks in Ghent and DAF in Westerlo, are located. These factories manufacture axles and truck cabins.
