British luxury car manufacturer Bentley (part of the Volkswagen group) is cutting jobs to survive the "turbulent times" caused by a reassessment of electric vehicle demand.
Bentley CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser stated that the company still plans to launch its first fully electric vehicle in 2027. He added that "there is still much work to be done" to convince consumers who are not ready to give up internal combustion engines.
The company plans to cut 275 jobs, which represents 6% of its workforce.
"The automotive industry is under pressure in all directions. Cost-cutting is definitely a priority everywhere right now," Walliser said, as reported by the Financial Times. "These are not emergency cuts. This is a very thoughtful and measured adjustment of our structure in these turbulent times," noted Bentley's Chief Financial Officer Axel Devitz.
Bentley's operating profit in 2025 fell by 42% to €26 million, partly due to write-offs related to Volkswagen's decision to abandon the development of a new electric vehicle platform that was to be used by the brands Bentley, Porsche, and Audi.
In recent years, Bentley has consistently scaled back its electric vehicle development plans, which initially called for the annual release of a new model from 2025 until the end of the decade. In 2024, the company pushed back its full transition to electric vehicle production from 2030 to 2035, and last year acknowledged that it would continue to sell plug-in hybrids even after 2035.
"We had to rethink, reimagine, and recalculate all our future products and offerings," Walliser said, noting the renewed interest from buyers in internal combustion engines.
He added that the company will strive for a "balanced portfolio" of products, including electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and a "very limited" number of gasoline models.
