Schaeffler headquarters in Herzogenaurach
According to the company, three quarters of the jobs that will be lost come from the areas of research and development of parts for combustion engines or from central functions.
(Photo: dpa)
The automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler will cut a total of 1,300 more of its almost 83,000 jobs by 2026, 1,000 of them in Germany. The company justified the measure on Tuesday with a faster-than-expected transformation away from combustion engines to electromobility.
It is the second transformation program within a short period of time at the Franconian group. In 2020 he announced that 4,400 jobs would be cut. Plant closures are not planned this time.
According to the company, the job cuts that are to be implemented in a socially responsible manner by 2026 are primarily at the three locations in Herzogenaurach, Bühl in Baden and Homburg in Saarland. Three quarters of the jobs that would be lost would come from the areas of research and development of parts for combustion engines or from central functions. According to Schaeffler CEO Klaus Rosenfeld, the program will cost 130 million euros and should save 100 million euros a year from 2026.
Schaeffler boss Rosenfeld announces development of new technologies
The transformation to electric drives is going much faster than recently assumed – driven above all by developments in China and the USA, said Rosenfeld. Therefore, overcapacities in this area would have to be reduced in order to remain competitive. At the same time, the development of new technologies is progressing. Rosenfeld named a new central laboratory in Herzogenaurach, a hydrogen center and a center for electromobility as examples.
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The order intake for solutions for electromobility significantly exceeded expectations, he said. Orders worth 4.7 billion euros are currently on the books. Two billion to three billion were planned. Overall, the third quarter went well, mainly thanks to good business in the industrial sector. Sales increased by 20.2 percent compared to the same period last year.
For the year as a whole, Schaeffler is sticking to its forecast of sales growth of six to eight percent. Last year, the company achieved an increase of 9.7 percent to 13.9 billion euros. After three quarters, Schaeffler is at 11.8 billion euros this year. At the same time, earnings before taxes, interest and special effects fell from 962 million to 813 million euros.
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