Porsche AG said on Friday it will close three subsidiary companies and eliminate more than 500 jobs as it narrows its focus to its core automotive business.
The three units being shut down are Cellforce Group GmbH, a battery technology developer; Porsche eBike Performance GmbH, which makes electric drive systems for e-bikes; and Cetitec GmbH, a producer of software for data communications.
"Porsche must refocus on its core business. This is the indispensable foundation for a successful strategic realignment," CEO Michael Leiters said in a statement. "This forces us to make painful cuts — including our subsidiaries."
The closures are part of a broader turnaround effort under Leiters, according to The Wall Street Journal. Under Leiters, who previously led McLaren, the company has committed to a slimmer organizational structure with a product lineup better tuned to what buyers actually want. Rather than pushing ahead with an all-electric expansion, Porsche has pivoted toward new combustion and hybrid offerings, as Leiters pursues a strategy centered on margin improvement and profitability rather than chasing sales figures.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the subsidiary closures come on the heels of a deal to divest Porsche's ownership positions in both the Bugatti Rimac hypercar venture and Rimac Group, an electric-vehicle manufacturer. The day before, Porsche said it would reorganize its top leadership structure by merging the previously independent Car-IT division with its research and development operations.
Porsche, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, is contending with a range of headwinds including U.S. tariffs, weakness in China, and a slow uptake of electric vehicles. In the opening quarter of 2026, the automaker saw vehicle sales decline by 15%, while operating profit contracted 22% to reach €595 million ($697.5 million). The strategic overhaul is projected to weigh on this year's results by hundreds of millions of euros.
A comprehensive strategic plan, expected in autumn, will lay out how Porsche intends to reduce expenses and expand its model lineup over the decade leading to 2035.