Frankfurt (AFP)

Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler announced on Friday that at least 10,000 jobs worldwide will be cut by 2022 to finance the costly electric transition that is affecting the entire German automotive sector, hit by a wave of restructuring. .

The number of posts deleted "will be five-digit" and will concern administrative positions, said the director of staff Wilfried Porth at a press conference, three days after the announcement of 9,500 job cuts at competitor Audi.

Daimler first presented its plan in mid-November to save € 1.4 billion in personnel costs, in the face of the "high investment required by the transition to CO2-neutral mobility".

If some of the departures will be through non-replacements and an early retirement program, the group said it will also propose voluntary departures.

These measures include the already announced elimination of some 10% of the management functions, added the group, which corresponds to nearly 1,100 posts according to the German press.

Daimler currently has some 304,000 employees in all functions worldwide.

"Details on the implementation" will be "specified in the coming weeks," adds the manufacturer in a statement.

Like the entire European automotive sector, Daimler is engaged in a race to reduce the level of CO2 emissions from cars sold and meet strict standards in force next year in the EU, under the threat of heavy penalties .

- The car under pressure -

The low profitability of the new models is squeezing margins and forcing automakers to save for investment as the sluggish economic climate and the impact of the diesel engine scandal are already weighing on their accounts.

Daimler faces "financial burdens to achieve the CO2 reduction targets" in effect from 2020 that "demand measures in all branches of the group," explained the boss Ola Källenius mid-November.

In total, and taking into account the small utilities and HGVs as well as "hardware cost reductions", Daimler wants to save at least 1.65 billion euros, of which 1.4 billion in personnel costs .

Investment in equipment and research and development will be maintained at the 2019 level and reduced in the medium term.

This announcement adds to a series of bad news from the German automotive sector, a pillar of the country's economy.

Thus, the major manufacturers and equipment manufacturers have announced in recent months nearly 30,000 job cuts due to the deteriorating economic situation and the decline in the popularity of diesel for the less complex electric motors to produce.

Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, wants to remove 9,500 jobs by 2025 in Germany alone, Volkswagen expects to eliminate 5,000, the equipment manufacturer Continental 5.500 and his rival Bosch more than 2,000, while the American Ford provides 5,000 reductions of positions in its German factories.

According to a study published last year by the German employment agency, some 114,000 jobs will disappear by 2035 due to the move to electric cars.

The sector accounts for one fifth of the industry in Germany, nearly 5% of GDP and more than 800,000 direct jobs.

Beyond the impact of the trade dispute, the loss of popularity of diesel after dieselgate leaves traces: Continental will notably abandon the manufacture of hydraulic components for diesel and gasoline engines.

Daimler, which manufactures the S-Class limousine, Smart city car and Mercedes trucks, expects a "slight" increase in revenue in 2019 and an operating profit (EBIT) "significantly lower" than the last year, against the backdrop of the automotive market in the grip of trade disputes, particularly between China and the United States.

© 2019 AFP