A significant decline in the number of sought-after jobs within Germany’s automotive industry, particularly those focused on electric mobility, has become apparent. New data released Monday by the Ifo Institute and job platform Indeed, analyzing approximately 1.7 million job advertisements from 2,400 companies, reveals a noticeable shift in hiring trends.
While in June 2025, companies prioritizing electric mobility held a nearly 20% advantage in open positions compared to those focusing on combustion engines, the number of vacancies at “green” automotive companies – those specializing in electric vehicle technology – has halved by the end of 2023. This translates to an 81% relative decrease in demand for these roles. “The development of labor demand for green jobs suggests that the structural transformation is slowing down considerably” stated Oliver Falck, head of the Ifo Center for Innovation Economics and Digital Transformation.
Overall, the number of open positions within the German automotive industry has plummeted by two-thirds by June 2025 when compared to the peak recorded in August 2023. This marks the lowest level since the period impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Annina Hering, labor market expert at Indeed, highlighted a particularly concerning situation among automotive suppliers, where job advertisements have yet to recover from a decline observed since 2019. Suppliers currently face approximately 82% fewer open positions compared to May 2019.
The study examined almost 1.7 million online job listings on Indeed between January 2018 and June 2025, representing the hiring needs of 2,400 companies operating in Germany’s automotive sector. For the analysis, companies were classified based on their patent portfolios regarding propulsion technology, distinguishing between electric mobility (“green” companies) and combustion engines (“brown” companies).