E-mobility can create new jobs too

The transition away from combustion engines to electric ones will destroy many jobs in the German car industry, but also create new ones, Henrik Mortsiefer writes in Der Tagesspiegel. “An electric car consists of about 200 parts, a car running with petrol or diesel of more than 1,000,” he writes, suggesting that there will be a net drop in demand for engineers, mechanics and other professionals. According to calculations by trade union IG Metall, labour demand in engine production could fall to one seventh of current levels, Mortsiefer says, but adds that most studies fail to take into account “converse employment trends occurring on the way into the future.” A study commissioned by the European Climate Foundation (ECF)* argues that building up capacities for e-car production would actually increase overall employment in the sector by 2030, while increasing digitalisation associated with the energy transition could create further employment opportunities in car manufacturing and beyond.

Find the article in German here.

See the CLEW dossier The digitalisation of the Energiewende for more information.

*The Clean Energy Wire is jointly funded by the European Climate Foundation and the Mercator Foundation.