Aston Martin to cut staff costs by 20% as tariffs dent profits

Aston Martin has announced plans to cut its workforce by 20% as it battles to reduce costs in a bid to slow plummeting profits and strengthen its financial footing for the year ahead. The Gaydon firm has released its financial results for 2025, in which it posted a dramatic 36% decrease in gross profit, having produced 10% fewer cars than the previous year - and among them fewer high-margin special editions. Deliveries were down due to what Aston called “heightened challenges in the global macroeconomic environment”, including – most significantly – the imposition of punitive import tariffs on UK-built cars in the US, the company’s biggest market. Changes to luxury car taxation policies in the crucial Chinese market also had a huge impact, with demand “extremely subdued” there as a result. Company CEO Adrian Hallmark said the regulatory challenges meant that in 2025, “instead of competing on innovation and brand strength, Aston Martin was forced to navigate an unpredictable policy landscape and supply chain challenges that ultimately impacted volumes, efficiency and margins”. He added: “The year made one reality impossible to ignore: even the most resilient luxury brands are not insulated from geopolitical friction, and the headwinds created by these trade barriers have reshaped the competitive environment in ways that require us to adapt and take difficult decisions to ensure the long-term success of the business and to benefit all our stakeholders.” Going forward, the company said it will work to “optimise production schedules” so that it stands the best chance of its US-bound cars being included in the 100,000-unit quota of cars that the UK is currently allowed to ship to the US at the lowest, 10% tariff rate. Profits were also significantly dented last year by a reduction in the number of highly profitable special-edition Aston Martins delivered in 2025, which was a factor in the firm’s average selling price dipping 15% to £209,000 for the year. Overall, Aston posted losses of £493 million in 2025, compared with £323m for the year before - with its debts climbing 19% to £1.38 billion. As part of a turnaround plan that aims to deliver “materially improved financial performance” next year, Aston is doubling down on its commitment to reducing cost, with a target to trim £40m in operating and capital expenditure costs with a wide-reaching restructuring programme. This scheme will result in Aston cutting 20% of its staffing costs. It has not given a precise number of affected roles but says the focus on costs rather than headcount means that not necessarily a fifth of roles will be cut, and it includes contractor roles in the programme. It has not said which departments or regions will be most substantially affected, but Hallmark emphasised that the restructuring will impact all levels of the organisation: “To demonstrate that we are making changes throughout the organisation, my executive committee, a year ago comprising 11 members, will be nearly half the size by the end of Q1 2026." The firm forecasts a restructuring cost in this area of £15m. Hallmark, who joined Aston in 2024 after a stint as Bentley CEO, said: “Twelve months ago, at the start of my first full year as CEO, I communicated a strategy that built on the ongoing business transformation undertaken since 2020. It was one that sought to turn a high potential business with an iconic and globally recognised brand into a high-performing one, becoming a sustainably profitable business, acknowledged and rewarded for displaying operational excellence and discipline. “In 2025, we further evolved the strategy to capture six focus areas and have made positive progress on many fronts across the business. Despite this, unexpected challenges impacted our ability to fully execute on our plans this year, which was reflected in the financial performance of the business.” Hallmark was optimistic that Aston has “a more robust 2026 plan in place” that will enable the company to better “navigate a dynamic market environment”. Along with the reduction in headcount, Aston says it will benefit from the ramp-up of Valhalla production, with 500 units of the flagship mid-engined supercar planned to be delivered in 2026 - the 152 delivered in Q4 2025 having driven a 30% increase in the firm’s average selling price (ASP) to £232,000. The Valhalla – of which just 999 examples are planned to be built, with an average selling price “significantly” above the £850k base price – will play a significant role in Aston’s strategy to boost average selling prices across its line-up, after margins took an eight percentage-point hit in 2025, falling to 29%. Just as significant in this regard will be a renewed focus on “growing the range of personalisation options for customers to choose from, which supports future ASP growth and margin expansion”. The company said it will continue to introduce new derivatives and special editions of core models – like the new DBX S and Vantage S – in line with that push to increase margins, as well as continuing to “further expand our personalisation offering”. Aston also says that delaying its shift to a pure-electric line-up will have a positive impact on product investment costs through 2026. It had initially planned to launch its first electric car in 2025 but pushed that back in light of weaker than forecasted demand for luxury EVs, and now says it has no scheduled date to launch its first EV, pledging to keep plans “under review” in the short term. The company remains committed to sourcing its EV drivetrain components from Lucid, under the terms of a strategic partnership signed in 2023, and has a minimum spend agreement with the US manufacturer of £177m - but bosses say this deal is flexible and they are in ongoing discussions with the supplier about specific timings and volumes. Meanwhile, the firm will continue to invest in – and electrify – its current range of V8 and V12 engines, in line with a strategy to introduce a “blended drivetrain approach” over the second half of the decade. The combustion-powered GTs, sports cars and SUVs remain “at the heart of Aston Martin,” said Hallmark, “and we need to embrace this whilst ensuring we drive for greater engine efficiency and reduced emissions as we build a business fit for the future”.

main menu

Aston Martin to cut staff costs by 20% as tariffs dent profits

Aston details significant restructuring programme in response to 36% drop in profit last year

More from Autocar

Top 10s

Latest car reviews

Top manufacturers

Quick search

Legal bits

About Autocar

main menu

Aston Martin to cut staff costs by 20% as tariffs dent profits

Aston details significant restructuring programme in response to 36% drop in profit last year

More from Autocar

Top 10s

Latest car reviews

Top manufacturers

Quick search

We recommend

Legal bits

About Autocar