Schaeffler plans to cut 3,460 jobs and shut five sites in Europe. CNBC reports that the company blamed an «automotive industry crisis». About 2,660 of the jobs and four of the five sites are in Germany. electrive puts the cuts outside Germany at about 800.
Which sites
The Dortmund plant (430 staff) and the Morbach site (160 staff) make parts for combustion engines and will close. Schaeffler will also end operations in Berlin (about 270 staff) and at Schwalbach. electrive says many of Schwalbach's roughly 385 workers are expected to move to Frankfurt. Toolmaking will stop at Höchstadt. CNBC says capacity will also be adjusted at Haguenau and Toulouse in France and at Skalica and Kysuce in Slovakia. In all, 16 European sites are affected.
According to electrive, about half the cuts fall on production, 30% on research and development and 20% on other functions.
Why
Schaeffler cites weaker demand for combustion-engine parts, a slower-than-expected EV ramp-up and high labour costs in Germany. Its e-mobility division is still losing money. electrive reports a negative EBIT margin of 14.8% for the first nine months, a loss of 571 million euros.
The 2,660 German cuts are about 9% of a German workforce of just under 32,000. Counting earlier programmes and 1,800 signed partial-retirement deals, the reduction reaches about 18% by 2028.
New areas
CNBC says third-quarter revenue fell 0.2% to 5.8 billion euros. CEO Klaus Rosenfeld said Europe must defend its industrial base while pursuing new areas such as defence, robotics and automation. Board member Jochen Schröder told electrive the company can use expertise from its core business in humanoid robotics and defence.