Porsche is weighing a move of Cayenne production from Slovakia to its Leipzig plant in Germany, subject to workers at the German factory agreeing to wage reductions, reported the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
All three variants of the Cayenne – combustion, hybrid, and electric – are currently assembled at Volkswagen Group’s Bratislava facility on a recently installed, heavily automated production line.
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The proposed transfer to Leipzig would hinge on employees there accepting lower pay that narrows the difference with the significantly cheaper labour costs in Slovakia.
The potential move comes as Porsche grapples with a sharp decline in both sales volumes and financial results.
First-quarter 2026 deliveries dropped 15% year-on-year to 60,991 units, with the Chinese market – previously a significant growth engine – falling 21% to 7,519 vehicles.
The carmaker now expects its annual sales in China to stabilise below 40,000 units over the long term, a downward revision that has left capacity at its German plants substantially underutilised.
At Leipzig, the company is aiming to cut 200 roles by August through voluntary departures and severance packages, while up to 400 employees are earmarked for reassignment to Wolfsburg.
A number of temporary contracts have already not been renewed.
Chief executive Michael Leiters, who took the helm in early January 2026, confirmed that discussions with worker representatives are ongoing but stopped short of commenting on the Cayenne relocation specifically.
Separately, he is drawing up new model plans for Leipzig – including a successor to the petrol-engine Macan, set to be phased out in mid-2026 – as well as a new high-end sports car intended for the Zuffenhausen plant.
Neither model is anticipated to enter production soon.
Leiters is due to outline a full restructuring plan at a Capital Markets Day in October.
The revamp follows a severe deterioration in 2025, when operating profit fell 92.7% to €413m ($470.9m) and vehicle-only EBIT came in at just €90m.
An earlier cost-reduction programme, launched in early 2024, had already targeted roughly 3,900 roles at Zuffenhausen and the Weissach development centre; the current effort extends those cuts with additional reductions in the low four-digit range at the same locations.
