Andrea Knebel has worked at Bosch's motor assembly plant in Buehl, Germany, for two decades, but her post could be one of 700 the firm says it will cut by 2025 as Europe accelerates a push away from fossil fuel transport and toward electric vehicles.
The European Union has proposed an effective ban by 2035 on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles, which are responsible for nearly 15% of Europe's planet-heating carbon emissions.
Fewer auto-workers will be needed in the new electric car sector — but with those remaining possessing a much higher technical skill set — threatening mass layoffs in an industry that directly and indirectly employs 14.6 million people, or about 7% of Europe's workforce, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.