Porsche plans to close most of the operations of its Cellforce battery subsidiary, according to the German news agency dpa. According to dpa information, almost 200 jobs will be cut.

Unlike Porsche employees, Cellforce workers are not guaranteed employment as part of the union’s agreement with the employer.

An employment agency in the northeastern city of Reutlingen, near Cellforce’s headquarters, has been notified of mass layoffs, German media reports.

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has informed the government of the state of Baden-Württemberg about the planned closure of part of the business, sources familiar with the situation told dpa.

The factory that the German company plans to close has received state incentives in the amount of 60 million euros.

A Porsche spokeswoman declined to comment on the situation, and a federal government spokesman said he could not comment on internal discussions.

Porsche announced the production of high-performance batteries in mid-2021. However, in the face of fierce competition in the electric vehicle market, the manufacturer’s management announced in April that it did not want to continue operations in the battery production branch on its own, announcing that it was looking for investors.

According to the weekly Der Spiegel, the closing of Cellforce is a drastic move for the Volkswagen branch, which will bring a reduction in value of around 295 million euros.

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