Opel prepares cuts of up to 4,100 jobs as carmakers retrench

PSA Group’s German car-making division Opel plans to cut as many as 4,100 jobs, according to a person familiar with the matter, joining automakers around the globe in retrenching amid a sales slowdown and technological disruption.

Opel will eliminate at least 2,100 positions by 2025 and could take measures to slash another 1,000 workers twice in two-year increments through 2029, said the person, who asked not to be identified ahead of an official announcement. The automaker will brief employees on Tuesday, the person said.

A spokesman for PSA declined to comment.

While PSA breathed life into Opel after acquiring it from General Motors Co. in 2017, German brands have been struggling to prove they’re ready to meet stricter emissions standards and go electric. Transitioning from the internal combustion engine that Germany invented could be taxing for its economy because plug-in cars may require fewer parts and less labor to build.

Carmakers are eliminating more than 80,000 jobs during the coming years, according to data Bloomberg News compiled in December. PSA announced plans late last year to merge with Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and has said no plants will close as a result of the deal.

German newspaper Handelsblatt reported Opel’s plans to cut jobs earlier Monday.