Are legends mortal? In the automotive industry, manufacturing's crown jewel, the cemeteries are full of former glories who have fallen in the battle against harsh economic laws. Will Porsche, the most famous of German legends, survive the major technological shift to electric cars?

The question arises as the business situation of the famous 911 manufacturer continues to worsen. On Thursday, February 13, the company announced it was cutting 1,900 jobs. On the face of it, the measure is modest. It concerns only 4.5% of the workforce and will be carried out without any redundancies. The problem is that this decision comes after an avalanche of bad news.

As early as the summer of 2024, Porsche began to revise its profitability estimates downward. At the time of the company's IPO in 2023, it had set a target of a 20% operating margin – an impressive figure in the automotive industry, but a minimum in the luxury sector. Ferrari exceeds 27%. Instead, Porsche lowered its forecast from 17% to 14%.

For 2025, the estimate is now around 10%, with immediate consequences for the share price, which has dropped more than 30% in a year. Shareholders, and in particular the Piëch and Porsche families, heirs to the founder, immediately reacted by sacking the CFO and sales director on February 2. This may not be enough.

You have 34.92% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.