China’s largest carmaker to cut thousands of jobs at its joint ventures with GM and Volkswagen
Amid an intense price war and lost market share to BYD and Tesla, China’s state-owned automaker SAIC Motor is reportedly making drastic job cuts this year at its joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen and at its EV unit – with mass layoffs a rare move for a China-owned company.
The total number accounts for 30% of employees at SAIC-GM, 10% at SAIC Volkswagen, and more than 50% at its Rising Auto EV subsidiary, two unnamed sources told Reuters.
Mass layoffs by Chinese-owned firms are extremely rare, but the fierce price spearheaded by BYD has potentially forced its hand. In recent year, legacy carmaker SAIC and foreign partners have lost market share to Tesla and privately owned companies such as BYD. In China, there are more than 94 brands offering more than 300 EV models, according to Counterpoint Research, so there is no shortage of competition.
For nearly two decades, SAIC, which employs more than 200,000 people, has been a powerhouse in China, but its sales fell by 16% in the first two months of this year from a year earlier, according to an SAIC filing.
According to the report, the layoffs won’t all happen at once but are aimed for this year. Sources told Reuters that the bulk of the firings will happen via “implementing stricter performance standards and offering payouts to lower-rated employees who resign.”
SAIC refutes the claim, however, telling Reuters that the company doesn’t plan to downsize, and a spokesperson had no comment regarding efforts by the company to force low performers to resign or other strategies to reduce staff. In fact, SAIC said that it had recruited 2,000 employees earlier this year.
A VW spokesperson, however, declined to comment on the layoffs but added that employee performance reviews were a “long-term mechanism” to ensure “every employee can be qualified for their job requirements.”
According to the report, SAIC has a pressure-cooker-style rating system for employees from A to D, with employees rated D offered payouts to quit, while C-rated employees are put into “uncomfortable positions” forcing them to quit, the sources said. Last year, about 10% of SAIC-VW employees, for example, received a C or D rating. Also, these ratings apply to “white-collar professionals,” not factory workers, the source said. At this point, it’s unclear whether or not factory workers are included in the planned layoffs.
For its part, SAIC Volkswagen makes the ID.3 EV and Audi-branded vehicles, among other models. SAIC-GM makes Chevrolets, Buicks, and Cadillacs.
In China, EV sales account for 23% of total car sales, with that number on the rise. Of course, China granted Tesla a special exception from its longstanding requirement of making foreign automakers form joint ventures with Chinese-owned firms. Tesla set up its wholly own entity in China in 2018 in Shanghai, where it produces its biggest global output.
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When the $7,500 Federal EV tax credit expired September 30th, a number of carmakers leaped into action, offering rebates, price cuts, and promos of their own in a bid to keep the good times rolling. Now, it seems like even Rolls-Royce is getting in on the act with a fresh $5,000 rebate of its own for November.
CarScoops is reporting a rare lease incentive offering on the ultra-luxe Rolls-Royce Spectre electric coupe that it says, “replaces the expired $7,500 Federal EV tax credit.”
Granted, with the price of the base Spectre starting at $397,750 and climbing quickly to $467,750 for the Spectre Black Badge model, the big coupe is well above the old $80K cap and its buyers likely make far too much to qualify anyway — but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my few brushes with Real Wealth™, it’s this: those hate paying taxes.
As such, it’s not that hard to imagine a Rolls-Royce salesperson explaining this in those terms. “This isn’t a discount or a sale or anything so gaudy,” he’d explain, dismissing any concern as petty as price. “We’re simply honoring the tax credit that you deserve.”
Rolling deep
The Rolls-Royce Spectre first rolled (Ha!) into showrooms in 2023 with a perfect sufficient 430 kW (577 hp) electric motor drawing energy from a stout, 120 kWh battery pack good for up to 265 miles (~425 km) of range. The Black Badge version bumps the horsepower to 650 (485 kW), but the purists will tell you that either number is enough.
You can find out more about Rolls-Royce’ EV leas deals, below, then let us know what you think about this sordid business of “discount dash” in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
SOURCE: CarScoops; images via Rolls-Royce.
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Germany is about to become home to Europe’s largest battery storage system – a massive 1 gigawatt (GW) / 4 gigawatt-hour (GWh) project in Jänschwalde, Brandenburg.
LEAG Clean Power GmbH and Fluence Energy GmbH, a subsidiary of US-based Fluence Energy (NASDAQ: FLNC), are teaming up to build the “GigaBattery Jänschwalde 1000.” The four-hour system will use Fluence’s Smartstack technology, its latest large-scale energy storage solution.
Once complete, Europe’s largest battery storage project will play a key role in stabilizing Germany’s grid and storing renewable power for when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. It’s designed to deliver essential grid services, support energy trading, and boost energy security as the country phases out fossil fuels.
LEAG’s broader “GigawattFactory” plan combines solar and wind farms with flexible power plants and large-scale batteries across Germany’s Lusatian energy region. “By constructing gigascale storage facilities, we’re addressing one of the biggest challenges of the energy transition: ensuring constant power regardless of the availability of renewable energies,” said Adi Roesch, CEO of the LEAG Group.
Fluence CEO Julian Nebreda described the project as a “milestone for the energy future of Germany and Europe,” adding that it demonstrates how collaboration and cutting-edge technology can “transform the foundation of our economy and our everyday lives.”
The German government recently reaffirmed the importance of storage in building a secure and affordable clean power system. With this 4 GWh giant, LEAG and Fluence are implementing that priority in one of Europe’s most coal-heavy regions.
Read more: Battery boom: 5.6 GW of US energy storage added in Q2
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