
AI-generated summary
Mercedes-Benz is under pressure to reduce costs and ensure competitiveness in the upheaval of the automotive industry. Downsizing programs are a common means of adapting to changing market conditions.
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Staff cuts at the car manufacturer Mercedes are making a severance offer to executives
In individual cases, Mercedes-Benz is said to have paid up to 500,000 euros to get rid of employees. Now the car manufacturer wants to relaunch the severance pay program - and is increasingly targeting executives.
By Timo Schober
September 30, 2026, 6:25 p.m
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Mercedes-Benz will officially announce the severance program in the coming weeks and make initial offers.
Likely · Within weeks

Volkswagen is terminating the collective agreements on December 31st due to increased competition, particularly from Chinese competition. IG Metall criticizes the move as a “bad foul” and is trying to protect working hours, special payments and classifications. The works council and union have announced protests and possible strikes at the turn of the year.

BMW wants to reduce the number of areas and management functions by 20 percent by mid-2027 in order to become leaner and more efficient. There should be no massive job cuts. In addition, the company plans to simplify its offering, for example by offering the new 3 Series without a diesel engine, and is relying more on regionalization in China and the use of AI to save costs.

Bafin has appointed Marcus Leiendecker as special representative on the board of Raiffeisenbank Plankstetten. He replaces Odo Steinmann and is supposed to stabilize the bank after years of conflict with the supervisory authority. The bank has abandoned the cooperative principle and has been organized as a stock corporation since 2010.

PCE inflation in the US was below expectations in August, which had a positive impact on financial markets. At the same time, companies like Jabil and Hewlett Packard Enterprise exceeded expectations in the AI space, while Micron is poised for a sharp jump in sales and profits due to the AI-driven boom in memory chips.

The US stock markets reacted positively to important economic data on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones unchanged at 51,377 points, the S&P 500 rising by 0.6 percent to 7,716 points and the Nasdaq gaining 0.9 percent to 27,050 points. The PCE index remained at 3.4 percent in August, as expected, as investors continue to anticipate another interest rate hike from the Fed.
The pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim is not planning an IPO. CEO Shashank Deshpande emphasized that financial independence was a priority. The company finances its research to the tune of billions from its own resources and thinks in generations rather than quarters.