According to reports, Mercedes-Benz China is implementing a new round of structural layoffs, aiming to reduce the number of employees at Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales and Service Co., Ltd. from approximately 900 to less than 600. This is the second large-scale personnel reduction by Mercedes-Benz China in less than a year and a half, following the first round of layoffs in February last year.
Multiple sources familiar with the matter have revealed that this round of adjustments is not limited to the sales and service company. Since 2025, personnel adjustments within Mercedes-Benz’s China system have been occurring across various departments, including automotive finance, sales, IT, and R&D and manufacturing. These adjustments are distributed across different business entities and employment relationships, and the compensation standards are not uniform. The R&D system is one of the key departments targeted for staff reduction. Public information shows that Mercedes-Benz’s R&D centers in China are mainly located in Beijing and Shanghai, with approximately 2,000 R&D personnel covering multiple areas such as local model development, intelligent technology, electrification, software, and in-vehicle systems.
However, this round of layoffs failed to stem the company’s continued decline, forcing it to initiate two more rounds of layoffs this year: one currently underway with a 10% reduction, and the other to begin at the end of the year. The goal is to reduce the number of employees at Mercedes-Benz Sales Company from over 900 to just over 600 after these two rounds.
Besides layoffs, Mercedes-Benz China is also experiencing a deep organizational upheaval. On May 25th, the head of Mercedes-Benz Sales Company’s North China region resigned after a company-wide meeting, and the following day, a company-wide email announced that he would no longer serve as the general manager of the North China region.
It is understood that Mercedes-Benz’s R&D system is expected to lay off 10% of its staff this year. This figure has not yet been officially confirmed by Mercedes-Benz China.
Two months ago, the vice president in charge of after-sales service also suddenly resigned. Even earlier, Duan Jianjun, Mercedes-Benz China’s first Chinese CEO, resigned in March of this year, and was succeeded by Li Desi, the executive vice president of sales. Within just a few months, there has been a flurry of changes in the core management team, from CEO to regional heads to vice presidents.
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