Automotive supplier Schaeffler has announced another round of cost-cutting measures. The company reported on Tuesday that the program is set to result in a net reduction of 3,460 positions across the European region. Of these cuts, approximately 2,660 positions are located in Germany, with the remaining 800 being in other parts of Europe. The job reductions are spread across various departments: about 50 percent relate to production, 30 percent to research and development, and 20 percent to other functional areas.
A total of 16 locations in Europe will be affected by restructuring. Five of these sites, including four in Germany, are slated for potential closure. Among these are the Dortmund plant, which currently employs 430 people, and the Morbach site, with 160 employees. Both locations belong to the Powertrain & Chassis division and are involved in producing products for internal combustion engines.
In addition to these closures, Schaeffler plans to halt activities at the Berlin location, which has around 270 employees. The Schwalbach site will also be closed down. A substantial portion-nearly 190 jobs-at these locations will be transferred to the Schaeffler facility in Frankfurt.
Further adjustments are planned for other facilities. The tooling industry operations in Höchstadt will be suspended, and “modifications” will be introduced in special machine engineering at the Erlangen and Schweinfurt sites. Additionally, “capacity and structural adjustments” are scheduled at several other German sites, including Herzogenaurach, Bühl, Höchstadt, Nürnberg, and Regensburg.
Outside of Germany, production and development capabilities will be “adjusted” at the French sites in Haguenau and Toulouse, as well as at the Skalica and Kysuce locations in Slovakia. The Herstal production site in Belgium, which currently employs about 15 people, will be shut down. Detailed information regarding the plans at each respective site will be presented during local employee meetings.
