EV transition could cost 500,000 jobs, supplier group says

EV transition could cost 500,000 jobs, supplier group says
# 07 December 2021 10:26 (UTC +04:00)

The transition to electric vehicles from internal combustion powertrains could mean the loss of up to 500,000 jobs at automotive suppliers in the EU by 2040, according to a new study by the industry trade group CLEPA, APA reports citing Autonews.

Those job losses will not be fully offset by a corresponding growth in EV components, which the group said would generate only 226,000 new positions, for a net loss of 275,000 jobs.

That scenario could play out if the EU enacts a proposal in its "Fit for 55" package to allow only zero-emissions vehicles to be sold after 2035. Along the way, emissions would fall by 55 percent from 2021 levels by 2030. The package of proposals was released this summer.

The suppliers' group is calling for a mixed-technology approach to emissions reductions, including hybrid technologies, so-called green hydrogen and renewable fuels. That approach would still cut emissions by 50 percent and maintain current employment levels, CLEPA said.

"The study highlights the risks of an EV-only approach for the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people working hard to deliver the technological solutions for sustainable mobility," CLEPA Secretary General Sigrid de Vries said in a news release Monday.

According to the report, prepared by PwC for CLEPA, 1.7 million people work at automotive suppliers in Europe, with an additional 1.2 million jobs at automakers. There are also about 1.21 million jobs in activities such as tires, body manufacturing, chemicals, batteries and electrical equipment, and 3.2 million in support services.

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