The cuts represent about 10% of Bosch’s total workforce in the country, and 3% of its staff worldwide. Workers’ representatives vowed to resist the cuts, labelling them ‘unprecedented.’
German industrial giant Bosch said Thursday, September 25, it would cut 13,000 jobs, mostly in its auto unit, in the latest blow for the country’s ailing car sector.
The auto industry in Europe’s biggest economy has been hammered by fierce competition in key market China, weak demand and a slower than expected shift to electric vehicles.
The cuts, all of which will take place in Germany, represent about 10% of Bosch’s total workforce in the country, and 3% of its staff worldwide.
Bosch − the world’s biggest auto supplier, making everything from braking and steering systems to sensors − said the layoffs were needed to help make annual savings of €2.5 billion in the group’s car unit.
China actually has electric cars with 300km range for under $20k.
We’re not allowed to buy them in the West because it would show us all how much we’re getting ripped off by our rulers.
We really are stupid and paying the price everyday.
There’s more to this than JUST that. Not that you’re wrong of course.
China subsidizes heavily because they want to be the only relevant player in the global EV market. These cars would cost closer to their non-Chinese counterparts if China wasn’t doing this.
In global economics, this is considered unfair, and is usually retaliated against via tariffs.
To be fair, everyone should subsidize their production. That makes products cheaper for everyone and life better for everyone.
The way i see it, the fact that this is considered unfair is the problem. We should be doing the same thing instead of bashing against that.
Why wouldn’t we let them in too drain the Chinese economy then. We would “win” in the short term by getting vehicles with fewer emissions while siphoning money out of the Chinese economy. Later when they could no longer afford to offer the vehicles at such a low price another company would step in with a superior product. At least that’s what I’ve been taught about how capitalism works. Was that all a lie?
The situation is a lot more complicated than that. On big enough scales (globally), it’s not actually about the money at all. The countries can literally just print arbitrary amounts of paper money, so money is no concern at all.
What is a concern, however, is everything else. There’s jobs, the way that countries perform on the international stage (geopolitical aspects), future prospects, people’s quality of life, and much much more. All of that matters and is not really mapped to economic numbers such as money. That’s why these micro-economic attempts fail when trying to apply them to the global level.
It’s a complex subject, right? From a consumer’s perspective, you could have a cheaper car, but your government won’t let you (by putting tariffs on them, or just straightout banning them) because China is not playing fair. As a consumer you are paying a price because of your ideology. I don’t know if everyone will want to do that.
And on the other hand, from the Chinese government’s perspective, they aren’t going to care if you think they are fair, as long as things are working out for them. If subsidizing means better product and/or markat dominance, why won’t they keep doing that? There are markets that are more ideologically aligned with them willing to take their products.
So what? Their economic model is able to churn out better product at lower prices, and the useful idiots in the West (you) cheer because you get worse deals.
I don’t care what “global economics” says. Have you seen the global economy? Do you think you’re a player, or just another pawn (useful idiot)?
Now, run along and go be average somewhere else. I’m genuinely tired of arguing with you people.
Subsidies designed to bankrupt the competition isn’t a better economic model
If these subsidies work so well, why don’t we use them too?
You’d have a point if the West could churn out competitive EVs.
Gonna block you now. I’m sick of stupid people and it’s a shame how many morons agree with you.
More reasons for me not to take the crowd seriously!
The west churns out BETTER EVs in many metrics. They just cost more because they’re not subsidized.
If we allow the Chinese to bankrupt every other manufacturer using subsidies, guess what, they’ll hike the prices 2-3x at least.
This is because at least here in the EU, governments want more people to use transit and fewer new cars to be sold, so they won’t subsidize domestic car production. We even got a brand new car registration tax here as well as an annual road tax here in Estonia, do you consider that a bad thing too? Since it negatively impacts people’s ability to buy more new cars…
Maybe understand the very basics of trade wars first lol
They’re that cheap because the chinese government pays for them to be that cheap. It also helps that they exploit their workforce as much as possible, but they still wouldn’t be as cheap as they are without the subsidies.
Oh my fucking god, it never ends with you morons.
So what if the chinese government pays for them to be cheap? Government intervention is literally part of their econony.
You, in typical dipshit fashion, don’t recognize how you’ve been convinced to hate them simply because they can compete with your rulers.
Instead of recognizing how you’re being played for a fool, you double and triple-down with all the other useful idiots.
I’m glad I can see it for what it is, because most of you are genuinely to stupid enough to do so yourselves.
Ignored.
There was no value judgement in mine (or the other guys) comment, that’s entirely your victim complex. Of course I would rather china not try to destroy our local markets but that is very very low on the list of things to hate the ccp for and I can’t say it’s fundamentally morally wrong in the world we live in either.
It’s just a fact that it’s subsidized and your propaganda that it’s cheap because china is just better at manufacturing is a flat out lie.
I need more range than 300km and I’d be all over this if it uses LifeP04 batteries. I work 48 hour shifts, but drive about 150km each direction. Which means during the winter if I wanted to round trip it I’d need a 400km range vehicle.
Hope you gain the ability to charge for those 48 hours, seems like it would open your options
It would, but right now that’s pretty much not possible.
Those cars are 20k because the majority of chinese blue collar workers are treated like 19th century coal miners, with few labor laws or regulations to speak of.
We get cheap shit because of their suffering.
Did you know that the US has the highest percentage of people locked up in prison worldwide?
Did you know that the US still uses forced labor for a lot of production, including and especially agricultural production?
Where is the bashing of American products? Where is the proportionality in the discussion?
so that’s acceptable with, (checks notes), every other Chinese made product sold in NA and Europe but not EVs… no sir, we car aboot those EV workers a lot
Same is true of almost everything you own, large groups of people stuck in poverty isn’t an accident, it’s on purpose and it’s everywhere in this world sadly
You’re peddling talking points that exist to ensure you can’t a better deal due to lack of competition and artificially inflated prices.
Have you ever had a banana? Guess why they’re so cheap. We still get access to them and useful idiots like you don’t complain because the banana market doesn’t threaten the wealth of people richer than you can comprehend.
This is the problem, right here folks. Think tanks have been working overtime to make sure people like /u/whatamlemmy can feel justified in being cut off from more competitive markets.
insulting people is mostly a bad idea; including in this case.
Don’t people complain about the inhumane conditions and treatment of the laborers by banana companies all the time? lol
No, they don’t.
They also don’t block importing them to the US.
The working conditions for the average banana farmer is also significantly worse than the average Chinese car manufacturers.
>No, they don’t
It’s a topic that I’ve seen pop up countless number of times
I’m not going to sit here and debate with you what “all the time” is supposed to mean.
Conveniently ignored this part because you don’t have a rebuttal.
Also this one.
I’m going to ignore you now because you proved to me that you’re an average idiot and not worth taking seriously. It’s a shame people like you get to have more impact on the world, but that’s why the world is the way it is.
Keep getting ripped off, and keep defending the people doing it. I don’t expect more from you.
I focused on the specific part where I thought you were wrong. People do talk about the suffering if the banana plantation workers and it’s been talked for a long time. As far as products go, that’s one where the shit conditions are actually brought up often.
Yeah and let’s not even talk about all the clothes people buy that end up in landfills. Created by workers in horrible working conditions.
On the other hand these probably have some kill switch integretated in them. Or some way to control them at some point which China could use as leverage.
Meanwhile tesla is regularly in the news about cutting off people’s auto drive over payment issues or forcing software updates while the car is in motion lol
Also shitty and one more reason to buy a stupid car rather than some sort of surveillance truck with hundreds of sensors and cameras.