Porsche May Move All Cayenne Production to Leipzig Only If Workers Accept Pay Cuts

Porsche plans to move all production of the Cayenne SUV from Bratislava in Slovakia to its Leipzig plant in Germany. The relocated output would cover every powertrain variant. Euronews reported that the relocation can proceed only if employees accept noticeable reductions in pay.

Labor costs in Slovakia remain lower than in Germany. The group works council confirmed that negotiations with Porsche are ongoing. Works council chair Ibrahim Aslan said several issues remain unresolved and that the aim is to reach a solution as quickly as possible, though it is still unclear when an agreement might be reached.

Porsche confirmed that talks with employee representatives are taking place but declined to comment on the specific relocation plans. CEO Michael Leiters justified broader cost-cutting measures by citing the difficult market environment while giving an explicit commitment to Germany as a production base and to the Leipzig plant.

In recent months several hundred fixed-term employment contracts at Porsche have not been renewed.

Around 200 more jobs are to be cut by August through voluntary severance agreements and redundancy payments. Up to 400 employees could be temporarily transferred to Volkswagen's Wolfsburg site. The restructuring follows a sharp fall in global deliveries in the first quarter of 2026 and a massive slump in profits for the 2025 financial year.

Both the Leipzig SUV plant and the main factory in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen are considered underutilised.