The unexpected consequence of the recently announced exit of Porsche from the ownership of the Rimac Group and the company Bugatti Rimac will be felt in the rest of Croatia as well. tech industry. Namely, the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of the parent company Porsche AG made a decision to “implement far-reaching measures as part of the strategic business realignment” – which in translation means the continuation of cuts that include the shutdown of three key subsidiaries: Cellforce Group GmbH, Porsche eBike Performance GmbH i Cetitec GmbH.
These decisions directly affect more than 500 employees in different sectors and locations. dr. Michael LeitersChairman of the Executive Board of Porsche, emphasized that the return to the core business is a necessary foundation for the company’s successful future, while admitting that such painful cuts, which include branch closures, have become inevitable.
Impact on Croatia
The subsidiary Porsche eBike Performance GmbH, which was created when Porsche took over Greyp Bikes from Rimac, specializing in the development and sale of drive systems for e-bikes, is ending its operations. They say this is happening “due to fundamentally changed market conditions”, and the decision to shut down the company will result in the closure of operations at the Ottobrunn and Zagreb locations, directly affecting around 360 employees. The termination of this joint venture is fully aligned with the new direction of Porsche AG.
A similar fate befell Cellforce Group GmbH, based in Kirchentellinsfurt. Despite the initial plans, the company no longer has a sustainable long-term perspective within Porsche’s powertrain strategy. The management therefore started talks with the works council about closing the company, which affected around 50 employees.
Changes in the market and a shift in focus in software development also led to the closure of Cetitec GmbH from Pforzheim. This subsidiary specialized in the development of software for data communication within Porsche and the entire Volkswagen Group. The management of Cetitec has started the consultation process on the closure, which will affect 60 employees in Germany and an additional 30 employees in Croatia.
Among the employees of Porsche eBike Performance in Croatia, everything suddenly became unofficially known only this Thursday, only to be officially confirmed already on Friday morning – that they will all lose their jobs, even though they had been working on projects quite regularly until yesterday. According to the information we received from sources close to the company, the liquidation of the company in Croatia will last six months, during which time the employees will be paid. In addition, they will be paid severance pay, according to their seniority.