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Bentley is cutting its workforce to survive “turbulent times”, as the Volkswagen-owned luxury brand rethinks its electric vehicle plans.
Chief executive Frank-Steffen Walliser said the company remained on track to launch its first fully electric model next year but admitted there was “a lot of work to do” to persuade consumers who were not yet ready to abandon the internal combustion engine.
The company said on Tuesday that it planned to eliminate 275 roles, about 6 per cent of its workforce, by cutting up to 150 staff and not replacing vacant positions. Rival Aston Martin also recently disclosed plans to reduce its worldwide workforce by up to 20 per cent amid mounting losses.
The announcement came as Bentley reported a 42 per cent year-on-year fall in operating profit to €216mn in 2025, reflecting one-off costs tied to a Volkswagen Group decision to halt development of a new electric vehicle platform intended for use by Bentley, Porsche and Audi.
Asked about the planned job cuts, Walliser said: “The automotive industry is in every aspect under pressure . . . cost management is definitely on the higher priority everywhere.”
Finance chief Axel Dewitz added: “We are not acting in an emergency here. It is a very considered and very measured focused review of our structures in the current turbulent times.”
In recent years, Bentley has repeatedly scaled back its ambitious electric roadmap, under which it had envisaged launching a new EV every year from 2025 to the end of the decade.
Frank-Steffen Walliser: ‘The automotive industry is in every aspect under pressure’ © Anthony Devlin/Bloomberg
In 2024 it pushed back its target to sell only EVs from 2030 to 2035. Last year, it acknowledged that it would continue to sell plug-in hybrids beyond 2035.
“We had to renew, rethink and recalculate our complete product line and all future offers,” Walliser said, citing “renewed interest in the internal combustion engine”.
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He added the company would aim for a “balanced portfolio” that included EVs, plug-in hybrids and “very selective” petrol models.
Carmakers worldwide have scaled back their electric vehicle plans following radical policy changes in the US. The shift has cost the global car industry at least $65bn over the past year.
Luxury-car makers including Aston Martin, Porsche, and Audi have also been hit hard by US tariffs and slowing demand in China.
Bentley sold 10,131 vehicles last year, down 4.8 per cent year on year. Its operating profit margin was 8.3 per cent, compared with 14.1 per cent in 2024, but still the second highest in the luxury car segment after Ferrari’s 29.5 per cent.
