{"text":[[{"start":7.75,"text":"Porsche will cut 500 jobs and close its electric bike motor division as the luxury manufacturer moves to focus on its core sports car business. "}],[{"start":17.5,"text":"Porsche eBike Performance developed high-performance e-bike motors for other bike makers, putting the Porsche driving experience on two wheels. But the division is now being shuttered due to “fundamentally changed market conditions”, the carmaker said on Friday. "}],[{"start":33.75,"text":"It will continue to sell Porsche-branded e-bikes but these are manufactured by German company Rotwild. "}],[{"start":40,"text":"Curtailing activities outside Porsche’s main business is “the indispensable foundation for a successful strategic realignment”, chief executive Michael Leiters said in a statement. "}],[{"start":50.5,"text":"The Stuttgart-based carmaker has seen its profits fall dramatically as a result of higher US tariffs on auto imports and costly changes to its electrification strategy. "}],[{"start":60.1,"text":"Leiters, who took the reins at the start of the year, has pursued a turnaround strategy based on boosting investments in petrol and hybrid vehicles and cutting back on its electric vehicle efforts. "}],[{"start":71.2,"text":"The closure of the e-bike unit will affect 360 employees in Germany and Croatia. Porsche said it will also definitively close its car battery development unit Cellforce, which it had largely wound down last year. The closure of Cellforce will lead to another 50 job losses. "}],[{"start":87.5,"text":"The carmaker has already closed a communication software division, affecting another 90 people. "}],[{"start":93.85,"text":"The job losses at Porsche are equivalent to around 1 per cent of the company’s employees, and come on top of larger restructuring measures already announced last year, including 1,900 job cuts."}],[{"start":106.94999999999999,"text":"Porsche last month sold its stake in the owner of supercar brand Bugatti, offloading its 45 per cent holding in Bugatti Rimac — a joint venture with electric hypercar company Rimac, "}],[{"start":118.35,"text":"Porsche and its parent company Volkswagen have signalled that further cost-cutting measures will be needed to counter the impact of US tariffs and boost profitability. "}],[{"start":128.2,"text":"VW is considering expanding restructuring measures, which will already see the carmaker cut tens of thousands of jobs and slash capacity in Europe. The group has also been under pressure to sell off its non-strategic assets and simplify its corporate structure."}],[{"start":143.85,"text":"VW is planning to sell its shipping engine and heat pump manufacturer Everllence and has also signalled it is willing to bring in outside investors for both its autonomous taxi business and battery-cell production unit, PowerCo."}],[{"start":164.7,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778308829_2635.mp3"}