In the first half of the year, Porsche’s net profit rose 34% to €1.35 billion, despite selling fewer cars than before. Nevertheless, Porsche is responding to declining sales figures and margins with a ‘Future Package’.

By 2035, a further 5,000 jobs will be cut at the Zuffenhausen and Weissach sites, along with compensation reductions for the remaining staff. In return, the sports car manufacturer is providing employment guarantees and long-term commitments for its German sites and plans to invest €2.1 billion.

Restructuring program

Porsche AG’s executive board and general works council have agreed on a far-reaching restructuring program ahead of the launch of the company’s new ‘Sportwagenschmiede 35’ strategy program in October.

The measures respond to declining vehicle sales, particularly in China, the impact of U.S. tariffs and billions invested in electrification that have yet to generate returns. In the first half of 2026, Porsche’s operating margin fell to 7.8%, a sharp decline from its historical level of profitability.

The core of the restructuring program is the planned reduction of 5,000 jobs by 2035 at the Stuttgart-based carmaker. Porsche says the cuts will be implemented primarily through retirements, voluntary departures, partial retirement, demographic change, and voluntary termination agreements with severance payments.

Including previously announced measures and reductions at subsidiaries, the total number of jobs affected will reach around 9,000. That includes 1,900 positions earmarked for elimination by 2030, announced in early 2025, as well as the decision not to renew 2,000 fixed-term employment contracts.

Employment guarantees

In return, management has extended employment guarantees for employees at the Zuffenhausen and Weissach sites until 2035, meaning Porsche has committed not to carry out compulsory redundancies for operational reasons during that period.

Weissach is home to Porsche’s research and development center, while Zuffenhausen near Stuttgart is the company’s historic production site and builds the Taycan alongside several sports-car models. The planned job cuts will affect both administrative and production roles.

The restructuring program also includes guaranteed investments of 2.1 billion euros in Porsche’s two main sites in Baden-Württemberg. The company says the funding will secure the long-term production of its two-door sports cars in Zuffenhausen and strengthen development activities across the Volkswagen Group in Weissach. “

The ‘Future Package’ is good for Porsche. It gives us the opportunity to strategically realign our company and invest in our competitiveness,” said recently appointed Porsche CEO Michael Leiters.

Concessions

To finance these investments, employees have agreed to a series of financial and structural concessions. Until 2035, 3.5% of current and future pay increases negotiated under Germany’s sector-wide collective bargaining agreements will be withheld for large parts of the workforce. The Christmas bonus will be permanently reduced from up to 100% to 60% of a month’s salary.

Porsche will also reduce the maximum number of remote working days from twelve to eight per month, tighten production cycles and adjust paid ‘Steinkühler’ breaks, a longstanding break entitlement in Germany’s metalworking industry. At the same time, senior managers will forgo equivalent increases to their base salaries in 2027 and 2028.

In return, Germany’s metalworkers’ union IG Metall secured a number of concessions for employees. In August 2026, all staff covered by collective agreements will receive a one-off transformation bonus of 1,500 euros.

For IG Metall members, the payment will increase to 1,911 euros and will be complemented by an additional day of annual leave and a 200-euro voucher. Ibrahim Aslan, Chairman of the General Works Council, highlighted the complexity of the negotiations: “The package was hard-fought. Now we have to implement it together with the Executive Board.”

Implications

The agreement does not address Porsche’s Leipzig plant in eastern Germany. The site is covered by its own labor agreement, and its long-term outlook remains uncertain. Expectations are focused on the planned transfer of Cayenne production from Bratislava to Leipzig, as well as a new model codenamed M1, which is set to succeed the discontinued combustion-engine Macan.

The agreement may also have implications for labor negotiations elsewhere in the Volkswagen Group. By securing employment guarantees at Porsche until 2035, employee representatives have strengthened their position in discussions over restructuring, potentially influencing parallel negotiations at Volkswagen and Audi, where cost-cutting measures remain under discussion.

Signals of hope

The half-year results for 2026 are undoubtedly a boost for the new CEO, Michael Leiters, who is working hard to get the company on the rails again. In the past semester, Porsche sold fewer cars but more vehicles with a higher profit margin.

The 911, especially, sold well. Not only did Porsche’s iconic sports car sell 20% more, but it was also the luxurious and expensive GTS, Turbo, and GT versions that attracted clients.

Porsche retains its forecast for the entire 2026 after a very good Q2, and in October, at a shareholders’ meeting, Leiters will explain its future strategy. Cost-cutting and adapting the model portfolio are key elements to return to the high profit margins of the past.