Amid escalating economic instability and uncertainty, global automakers are grappling with immense profit pressures, prompting them to adopt contractionary measures. Recently, three prominent automakers—NIO, Volkswagen Group, and Renault Group—have been exposed to significant layoffs.

NIO Experiences Layoffs Across Multiple Departments

On March 12, LeiPhone reported that NIO carried out layoffs of varying degrees across multiple departments and terminal sales teams last week, including UR Fellow (after-sales customer service), PT Energy Department, NIO House operations, and after-sales stores. The company offered layoff compensation and job transfer options to affected employees.

According to sources, multiple employees indicated that the layoff ratio is approximately 10% with regional variations. Specifically, the UR Fellow department in Shanghai saw a 10% layoff rate, while the UR Fellow team in Shenzhen faced a 50% layoff rate.

Some NIO employees noted the swiftness of the layoff process, with some accepting the n+1 compensation package and completing their handover within just 20 minutes of notification.

NIO currently boasts a range of models, including the EC6/EC6 PLUS, EC7, ES6/ES6 PLUS, and the LeDao brand targeting the mainstream market at the 200,000 yuan price point.

Data reveals that in the first two months of 2025, NIO delivered a cumulative total of 27,000 vehicles, with LeDao contributing less than 10,000 vehicles. For 2025, NIO has set a target of 440,000 vehicles and holds high expectations for the LeDao brand. In December last year, LeDao Auto President Ai Tiecheng made a solemn pledge, aiming for LeDao to sell 15,000 vehicles in February and 20,000 vehicles in March, vowing to step down if these targets were not met.

Currently, there is a considerable gap between both LeDao's monthly targets and NIO's annual targets.

Moreover, NIO has yet to achieve profitability. In the first three quarters of 2024, the company incurred losses of 15.526 billion yuan. Since 2018, NIO has been in the red, accumulating losses of 102.156 billion yuan.

However, Qichacha shows that NIO Holdings recently received a capital increase of 400 million yuan from Hefei State-owned Assets.

Volkswagen's Software Subsidiary Cariad Plans to Lay Off 1,600 Employees

According to Germany's Handelsblatt, Volkswagen Group plans to lay off 1,600 employees from its software subsidiary Cariad by the end of this year, constituting about 30% of Cariad's current workforce. Notably, software developers will not be affected by this round of layoffs.

Founded in 2020, Cariad was initially intended to drive the development of intelligent technology within Volkswagen Group, but the results have been disappointing, with Cariad continuing to incur losses.

In 2023, Oliver Blume, the CEO of Volkswagen Group, conducted a comprehensive review of Cariad and adjusted its position within the Group, introducing external partners such as the American electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian and the Chinese autonomous driving system software and hardware supplier Horizon Robotics.

At the Volkswagen Group's annual press conference on March 11, Oliver Blume stated that Cariad will focus on developing key technologies, encompassing autonomous driving, infotainment systems, cloud services, data processing, and backend solutions.

On the same day, Volkswagen Group released its 2024 financial report, revealing a slight year-on-year increase in revenue by 0.7% to 324.7 billion euros, but a 15.4% decrease in operating profit to 19.06 billion euros. Cariad's operating loss amounted to 2.4 billion euros.

In terms of sales, Volkswagen Group sold 9.037 million vehicles globally in 2024, a year-on-year decrease of 3.5%. Regionally, the Group saw slight sales increases in Europe, North America, and South America compared to 2023, while sales in the Asia-Pacific region declined, particularly in the key Chinese market, where sales were approximately 2.93 million vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of about 9.5%.

Specifically, sales in the European market were 4.204 million vehicles (slightly higher than 4.169 million in 2023), North America saw 1.08 million vehicles (slightly higher than 1.078 million in 2023), and South America recorded 606,000 vehicles (slightly higher than 513,000 in 2023). However, sales in the Asia-Pacific region amounted to 3.147 million vehicles, lower than 3.603 million in 2023.

For 2025, Volkswagen Group expects its operating profit margin to be between 5.5% and 6.5%.

Additionally, Porsche, the luxury automotive brand under Volkswagen Group, has announced a new round of layoffs: by 2029, the number of jobs will be reduced by 1,900, with 2,000 more layoffs through the expiration of employment contracts.

Renault Group to Lay Off 300 Employees at Its French Van Factory

According to foreign media reports, Renault Group announced on March 11 that it will lay off 300 employees at its van factory in northern France to cope with the slowdown in demand for European commercial vehicles and increasing economic uncertainty.

The factory, located in Sandouville, Normandy, currently employs 1,700 full-time workers and 600 temporary workers. A Renault spokesperson stated that the contracts of 300 temporary workers will not be renewed upon expiration.

Earlier this year, in January, Renault had already indicated that it would not renew the contracts of 700 temporary workers at another van factory in Moselle, northeastern France, upon their expiration, partly to adapt to the increased production capacity requirements of new models.