Porsche plans to increase its workforce by about 24 percent in order to support its growth ambitions, with the German automaker unveiling plans to hire about 1,000 employees annually over the next five years.
The new employees will be hired primarily outside the automaker’s home market of Germany, said Thomas Edig, Porsche’s head of personnel. At the end of May, the workforce totaled 21,100 people worldwide.
The company’s announcement contrasts with the European auto industry’s reductions in personnel as manufacturers streamline operations following a six-year sales slump.
Porsche has hired about 8,400 people since 2010 and has a target to sell a record 200,000 cars in 2015 after launching the Macan compact SUV in April. “We won’t continue to grow along the lines of the past four years, but we do need to expand on the personnel side,” Edig told Bloomberg, adding that new jobs will be in model development, production, sales and servicing.
Following the addition of the Macan compact crossover, the fifth model line in the automaker’s lineup, Porsche may shift its attention to a new model, a supercar to take on Ferrari’s 458 Italia. Porsche CEO Matthias Müller said in February that the company might take a decision on the supercar by mid-2014.
Porsche remains one of the most profitable automaker in the world, with an 18 percent profit margin posted in the first quarter this year, significantly above the company’s target of 15 percent. Porsche was the second-biggest contributor to VW’s earnings, after Audi.
By Dan Mihalascu
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