German auto supplier Schaeffler plans 3,460 job cuts in Europe

German automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler is significantly stepping up its cost-cutting drive with thousands of job cuts and site closures, the company said on Tuesday.

The company plans to cut a further 3,460 jobs in Europe, of which 2,660 are in Germany. It plans to close five sites, four of them in Germany.

The MDax-listed group justified the further cuts by the car industry crisis in Europe, arguing that this required further countermeasures and structural adjustments.

Tuesday's statement comes in addition to previous measures, notably 4,700 job cuts announced in November 2024.

Plant closures

In the longer term, Schaeffler plans to close German sites including the Dortmund plant, with 430 current employees, and the Morbach site, with 160 staff.

Schaeffler also plans to end activities at its Berlin site, which currently has around 270 employees, and to give up its site in Schwalbach, outside of Frankfurt. 

According to the company, most of the roughly 385 employees at Schwalbach are to move to Schaeffler's Frankfurt site. Around 190 jobs are affected by the cuts.

The automotive supplier also plans to end tool-making activities at its site in Höchstadt, near Nuremberg, and make adjustments to special machinery at the Erlangen and Schweinfurt sites. 

Capacity and structural adjustments are also planned at other German sites, including Herzogenaurach, Bühl, Höchstadt, Nuremberg and Regensburg.

Union criticism

The IG Metall trade union and the group works council sharply criticized the new savings programme.

"At Schaeffler, one job-cutting programme is now following another, before the consequences of the previous one have been dealt with," said Thomas Höhn, IG Metall's company representative for Schaeffler. "This is not a forward-looking concept for Germany as an industrial location."

Schaeffler had previously decided to cut several thousand jobs in both 2024 and 2025.

Production to bear 50% of cuts

Following the completion of structural measures announced in November 2024 and 1,800 early-retirement contracts in early October, the board decided to launch a further earnings improvement programme, the company said. 

The aim is to cut overcapacity, adjust development capacity, lower staffing costs and streamline the organization.

Regarding the job cuts, around 50% are to affect production, 30% research and development, with 20% affecting other functional areas. 16 sites in the Europe region are affected by the cuts, according to company information.

The measures are expected to improve annual earnings by €300 million ($332 million) from 2030, Schaeffler said. Chief executive Klaus Rosenfeld estimates one-off costs of around €480 million for the savings programme.