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With the global decline in car sales superimposed by the impact of the epidemic, and enterprises are facing the demand of electrification and digitization, cost pressure has become the first problem for car companies, and layoffs have become the first choice for many car companies. According to the latest news from foreign media, Skoda, a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, plans to cut 2% of its management jobs in the Czech Republic in 2021.

Skoda has cut 2% of its administrative jobs in the Czech Republic, mainly by not recruiting new employees to replace former ones, European Automotive News reported. Although most of these employees are hired locally, the company declined to disclose the number of its managers or the details of its local staff.

According to brand spokesman Thomas Tomas Kotera: "Skoda plans to cut 2 per cent of its management positions this year, mainly because managers who retire naturally will no longer be replaced or replenished."

Meanwhile, Skoda's union said earlier on Thursday that it planned to cut non-production workers by at least 5 per cent a year in the three years to 2023, while Skoda declined to comment.

According to statistics, Skoda has 42000 employees worldwide, of which 34000 are in the Czech Republic, so the layoffs only involve local staff for the time being, and there is no news from other regions.

It is understood that Skoda is headquartered in the Czech Republic and is also the largest car exporter in the region, and its production and sales performance has directly become one of the weather vane of the country's economy. In 2020, the Czech economy fell sharply because of the COVID-19 epidemic. Skoda has also encountered development bottlenecks in recent years.

Skoda's cumulative global sales fell 1 per cent year-on-year to 1.2 million vehicles in 2019, and global car sales fell 19.1 per cent to 1.0048 million by 2020, according to data. This is mainly affected by the epidemic. Skoda in China, the world's largest single market, fell 17% year-on-year to 282000 vehicles in 2019. By 2020, sales declined further to 173000 vehicles, down 38.7% from the same period last year. Germany, as its second largest market, also decreased by 15.4% year-on-year in 2020, with a cumulative sales of 161800 vehicles.

Thus it can be seen that Skoda's profits have declined due to the continuous decline. In the first half of last year, Skoda's sales fell 1/4 to 7.55 billion euros, while operating profit plunged 72% to 228 million euros. Although the company said in its official semi-annual results that it had seen signs of market recovery in the second quarter of last year, the decline in sales of the brand in recent years has become an indisputable fact, especially in China, its largest sales market.

So in recent years, the decline of Skoda brand has triggered concerns about the future of the brand, and COVID-19 topped, how to hit bottom in core markets such as China, has become the most arduous task Skoda needs to face.

Jia Ming, Deputy General Manager of sales and Marketing of SAIC Volkswagen Co., Ltd. has also said, "as Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda and other brands have occupied a solid position in the Chinese market, independent brands have made the remaining living space smaller and smaller. Now, brands that can survive in the middle market segment are facing greater competitive pressure. "

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