Schaeffler AG has unveiled a further performance improvement program aimed at tackling persistent challenges in the European automotive industry, including weakened demand for internal combustion engine vehicles, a delayed ramp-up of electric mobility, and above-average personnel costs in Germany. The program, announced by the Board of Managing Directors, focuses on eliminating overcapacity, lowering personnel costs, and reducing organizational complexity. It follows the completion of restructuring measures announced in November 2024 and the conclusion of 1,800 partial retirement agreements in early October.
The workforce reduction will see a net total of 3,460 positions cut in the Europe region, with approximately 2,660 in Germany. About 50 percent of the affected positions are in production, 30 percent in research and development, and 20 percent in other functional areas. The cuts will affect 16 locations across Europe, including the closure of five sites, four of them in Germany. The Dortmund plant, which currently employs 430 people, and the Morbach site with 160 employees, both part of the Powertrain & Chassis division and manufacturing products for internal combustion engines, are slated for closure. Operations at the Berlin site, employing about 270 people, and the Schwalbach site are also planned to be discontinued, with a large portion of the approximately 385 employees expected to transfer to the Schaeffler site in Frankfurt. Additionally, toolmaking operations at Höchstadt will be discontinued, and adjustments will be made to special machinery manufacturing at Erlangen and Schweinfurt. Further capacity and structural adjustments are planned at other German locations, including Herzogenaurach, Bühl, Höchstadt, Nürnberg, and Regensburg. Outside Germany, production and development capacities at the French locations in Haguenau and Toulouse, as well as at Skalica and Kysuce in Slovakia, will be adjusted, and the Herstal production site in Belgium, with approximately 15 employees, will be closed.
The planned reduction of 2,660 positions in Germany represents about eight percent of the core workforce, which stood at 31,957 employees as of September 30, 2026. When accounting for job reductions from legacy programs and the 1,800 partial-retirement agreements already signed, the percentage increases to approximately 18 percent. The job cuts will be supplemented by a solidarity contribution, which includes a temporary, voluntary compensation reduction starting with the Board of Managing Directors and extending across all hierarchical levels. This measure aims to lower costs per employee, thereby reducing the necessary job cuts and associated one-time expenses, and is expected to provide immediate relief to the income statement in 2027 and 2028. Without the solidarity contribution, the job cuts would have been even more extensive.
CEO Klaus Rosenfeld reaffirmed the company's commitment to Germany as a business location, stating that the program aims to demonstrate that competitive and cost-efficient development and manufacturing in Germany and Europe are both possible and sensible over the long term. He emphasized the need to consolidate locations, bundle technological expertise in selected regional clusters, and optimize costs per employee, while further streamlining the organization and reducing hierarchical levels. The program primarily concerns the Schaeffler Group's automotive OEM business, but the company intends to offset at least a portion of the job reduction by creating positions in new growth areas, particularly humanoid robotics and defense, as part of its strategy to become the leading Motion Technology Company.
The performance improvement program is expected to generate savings of approximately 300 million euros per year by 2030, with one-time expenses of approximately 480 million euros, the majority of which will be recognized as restructuring provisions as early as 2026. The measures are to be implemented in a socially responsible manner and in close dialogue with employee representatives and works councils, based on the Future Accord concluded in 2018. Implementation of the structural measures is primarily scheduled for 2027 and 2028. The original release can be viewed on www.newmediawire.com, and further information is available via NEWMEDIAWIRE.
