Schaeffler to cut 3,460 jobs in Europe and close five sites
- Schaeffler plans to cut a net 3,460 positions across 16 European locations.
- About 2,660 of the Schaeffler cuts are in Germany; five sites will close.
- Schaeffler expects about €300 million (US$336 million) in annual savings by 2030.
- One-time Schaeffler costs are about €480 million (US$537 million).
HERZOGENAURACH, GERMANY — Schaeffler plans to cut a net 3,460 positions across 16 locations in Europe and close five sites, four of them in Germany, in a new performance improvement program. About 2,660 of the cuts fall in Germany, around 9% of its core workforce there, by 2028.
Roughly half the positions affected are in production, 30% in research and development and 20% in other functions. Counting earlier programs and 1,800 partial retirement agreements already signed, the reduction in Germany rises to about 18%.
Overcapacity in combustion parts
Schaeffler’s board launched the program to cut overcapacity, adjust development capacity, lower personnel costs and reduce complexity, the company said in a press release on Nov. 3. It cited weak demand for internal combustion engine vehicles, a delayed ramp-up of electric mobility and above-average costs per employee in Germany.
The Dortmund plant, with 430 staff, and the Morbach site, with 160, both make products for combustion engines and are slated to close. Operations in Berlin, with about 270 staff, and Schwalbach are also set to end.
“This requires that we consolidate locations, bundle technological expertise in selected regional clusters, and optimize costs per employee,” said Klaus Rosenfeld, chief executive officer of Schaeffler.
A pay cut from the top
The cuts will be paired with a “solidarity contribution,” including a temporary, voluntary pay reduction starting with the board and extending across all levels. Schaeffler said the job cuts would have been even larger without it.
The program is expected to save about €300 million (US$336 million) a year by 2030, with one-time costs of about €480 million (US$537 million). Outside Germany, capacity will be adjusted at sites in France and Slovakia, and the Herstal site in Belgium, with about 15 employees, will close.
“Here, we can draw on the technological expertise we have developed in our core business,” said Jochen Schröder, chief operating officer, pointing to growth in humanoid robotics and defense.
What it means for employers
Schaeffler is cutting 30% of the affected roles in research and development, a sign that engineering capacity is being resized along with factories. The company is also concentrating expertise in fewer regional clusters.
For manufacturers resizing engineering teams, engineering process outsourcing is one way to keep capacity flexible, though a redundancy program on this scale is mainly about cost. OA’s ultimate guide to outsourcing sets out the options.
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