German daily newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, first broke the story of the sweeping cost reduction program Friday morning, citing a letter distributed by administrators of the carmaker's works council.

"The works council was recently informed by management about the personnel and financial situation of the company," works council chief Michael Brech told employees. "Talks have begun, there are no results yet."

Brecht sent an email to 130,000 Daimler employees about upcoming job cuts on Friday morning. 

He said CEO Ola Kallenius had outlined a "concrete figure" on the cuts earlier in the week, along with a more comprehensive cost reduction program that will shield the company from a downturn in the global auto industry.