Auto Industry New: Daimler Slashes Workforce, Tesla v Ford Attracts Bettors, 2019 Daytona Turkey Run Celebrates Thanksgiving, and Formula 1 Champion Crowned

We’re assuming this Monday after a holiday weekend hurts as much for you as it does for us. Regardless, Happy (belated) Thanksgiving and welcome back to the blog. We’ve rounded up a few headlines you may have missed amid all that turkey and pumpkin pie. Daimler announces it will cut 10,000 jobs in a bid to combat rising EV costs. The Tesla v Ford truck match takes an interesting turn, as betting lines crop up. And the 2019 Daytona Turkey Run wrapped up this Sunday, marking the 46th year in the books. Plus, the Formula 1 season ends with the crowning of a six-time champion.

Check back throughout the week, as we’re not even close to done unpacking all the goodies from SEMA nor the new vehicles from the LA Auto Show. And, with PRI kicking off next week, we have a rundown of what you can expect if you’ll be visiting Indianapolis this year.

Ready? Let’s go.

Daimler to Cut 10k Jobs

Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes Benz, announced plans to cut at least 10,000 jobs worldwide over the next three years, decreasing its overall workforce by 3%.

This makes the company the third German automaker in a week’s time to announce major cost-cutting initiatives. It comes on the heels of resolved labor talks between BMW and its workers, with both sides agreeing to a deal that avoids “drastic measures,” as well as Audi’s announcement that it plans to eliminate roughly 15% of its German workforce, cutting nearly 9,500 jobs.

Daimler revealed via press release that the proposed job cuts would save more than 1 billion euros. Those euros are likely to be invested right into the production of electric vehicles as more companies move away from traditional combustion engines in favor of electric-powered drivetrains.

“The automotive industry is in the middle of the biggest transformation in its history,” Daimler said via statement. “The development towards CO2-neutral mobility requires large investments, which is why Daimler announced in the middle of November that it would launch a programme to increase competitiveness, innovation and investment strength.”

A major part of that program is to drastically reduce staff costs and management positions. As an effect, the announced cuts will eliminate 1,100 leadership positions worldwide or about 10% of the brand’s management.

Expect More of the Same

Unfortunately, such cost-cutting strategies—particularly as it pertains to staffing—are not expected to slow down anytime soon, as automakers struggle to scrape together money to pour into their EV teams.

“As auto companies shift production towards electric vehicles, we expect increased pressure on a 100-year-old auto ecosystem supporting millions of jobs globally…representing a risk to labor relations, earnings, and the balance sheet,” Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas told CNBC back in March 2019. And, it appears his predictions were right.

Expect more partnerships, alliances, and mergers like those between Daimler and BMW, Ford and VW, and FCA-PSA. Moreover, prepare for additional cost-cutting strategies in the global auto supply chain’s labor force as the industry pivots to vehicle manufacturing that requires significantly less hands on the line.

Tesla v Ford Tug of War

Don’t worry dear reader, it’s not all doom and gloom when it comes to EV news. Remember that much-discussed disaster launch of the Tesla Cybertruck? Well, as Tesla tends to do so well, it’s managed to stay in the headlines.

It turns out that an event from the launch has stuck in people’s heads, sparked furious debate online, and has even gotten some high-level auto executives Twitter fingers feeling feisty. And, believe it or not, I’m not even talking about those smashed windows. (Still hilarious, however).

I’m actually talking about the video of the Cybertruck beating a Ford F-150 in a tug of war that Tesla played during launch, along with taking a wide variety of shots at Ford in the process. Four days later, a Ford executive clapped back.

In a series of tweets, the exec linked to an article suggesting the trim level Tesla chose for each vehicle might have given them an advantage. He even asked for a rematch. As expected in the world of corporate liability, Ford’s public relations department was quick to walk back those claims, saying the exec’s tweet was all one big joke.

But that’s never stopped Elon Musk from taking to Twitter to make his feelings known. The Tesla CEO tweeted that he’s accepted the challenge and plans to film a new test video next week.

Bring It On

Now that we know the Tesla v Ford rematch is on, many have started picking sides and putting their money where their mouth is. Gambling sites like MyBookie started taking bets on the rematch’s winner, with the Cybertruck starting as the betting favorite before being overtaken by the Ford F-150 at the time of writing.

Unfortunately, Ford announced it would not participate in the rematch in any official capacity, calling the first one “absurd” and saying via statement, “With America’s best-selling truck for 42 years, we’ve always focused on serving our truck customers regardless of what others say or do. We look forward to our all-new F-150 hybrid coming next year and all-electric F-150 in a few years.”

Musk seems undeterred, however, still planning to move forward with the rematch regardless of Ford’s involvement.

We personally think this is a huge missed opportunity for the folks over at Ford. Whether they’re worried they’d actually lose in a fair fight or if they’re just not interested in the rematch for other reasons, this is a bummer. What a great opportunity for some good PR and a chance to promote the upcoming fully electric F-150 set to hit the streets in a couple of years.

Either way, we’ll be on the lookout for when that much-anticipated Tesla v Ford rematch video actually drops.

46th Annual Daytona Turkey Run

There’s no finer way to celebrate Thanksgiving than family, food, and fabulous cars. That’s where the annual Daytona Turkey Run comes in.

For the 46th year running, this collection of more than 5,000 custom and classic cars from all genres and decades come together under the warm Florida sun. Beginning with just 45 cars outside the Howard Johnson hotel in the early ‘70s, the Daytona Turkey Run is now the prime spot to take in everything from refurbished stock cars to the lowest-riding ‘54 Ford pickups around.

Visitors from all around the country came together last week for a feast among fellow auto enthusiasts, bargain hunters and a killer car show, flooding into Daytona International Speedway.

“Very early on it became a Thanksgiving Day tradition,” Jennifer Labonte, director of marketing and public relations for the Daytona Turkey Run, told The Daytona Beach News-Journal. “The timing of it is fantastic because it is the grand finale of all the car shows across the United States.”

To see all the photos of this year’s event, along with information about next year’s Turkey Run, visit the event’s Facebook page here.

Around the Circuit

Formula 1 Crowns Champion

Lewis Hamilton capped off his dominant season with a stellar performance in Abu Dhabi, finishing his championship season with a first-place finish. The Englishman dominated the field this weekend at the Yas Marina Circuit, as he’d done in the season overall.

The six-time world champion was the clear leader from start to finish, beating out Max Verstappen in second and Charles Leclerc in third. This is Hamilton’s 11th victory this season, matching his previous best win totals from 2014 and 2018.

The victory in Abu Dhabi also moves his career total to 84, only seven first-place finishes behind the all-time record holder Michael Schumacher, whose all-time win record Hamilton is set to match in 2020.

After the race, Hamilton took some time to praise the season his team put together. “I’m proud but just super-grateful for this incredible team and all at Mercedes who have continued to push this year,” Hamilton said. “Even though we had the championship won, we wanted to keep our head down and see if we could extract more from this beautiful car.”

F1 racers will now have a well-deserved break before the start of the 2020 season in Melbourne, Australia on March 15, 2020.