BERLIN -- Volkswagen is cutting back planned staffing at its all-electric plant in Zwickau, Germany and adjusting shift work due to "market conditions."
The factory is VW Group's largest EV plant in Europe with an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles. It builds full-electric cars on the automaker's MEB platform including the VW ID3, Audi Q4 e-tron and Cupra Born, as well as bodies for Bentley and Lamborghini.
VW had planned to give permanent employment to 540 staff hired in recent years on limited contracts but says it is no longer able to do so for 269 of those staff.
"Volkswagen continues to be 100 percent convinced of the path to electromobility ... however, in light of the current market conditions we can not extend 269 contracts which will run out shortly after a 12-month duration," a company spokesperson said on Thursday.
VW is having a tough time selling enough mostly made-in-Germany electric cars to challenge Tesla's global dominance.