Job reduction ZF plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs

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The automotive supplier aims to gradually decrease the number of employees in Germany by 11,000 to 14,000 by 2028.

The auto supplier ZF plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs in Germany by the end of 2028. The group announced this today in Friedrichshafen. The extent to which reductions are planned at the locations is now being specified.

"The reduction should be made as socially acceptable as possible by using the demographic structure of the workforce and the turnover," the company said. ZF plans to establish several site networks with leaner structures. Currently, 54,000 people are employed by the company in Germany.

The highly indebted company only imposed a strict austerity program on itself this spring. This year and next, costs are to be reduced worldwide by about six billion euros, it was said in February. ZF hopes to improve its position to tackle the further shift to e-mobility starting in 2026.

ZF CEO Holger Klein had already announced in April that the number of employees in Germany will not be sustainable in the long term. "With the measures now decided, we want to strengthen our competitiveness and consolidate our position as one of the world's leading supplier companies," he now explained.

High debts burden ZF

The main reason for the austerity measures is the high debt of the corporation. This originated mainly from the acquisition of the auto supplier TRW and the brake specialist Wabco. Currently, the corporation is paying hundreds of millions of euros in interest, which are missing, for example, in research and development. At the same time, the auto supplier, which is majority owned by the Zeppelin Foundation of the city of Friedrichshafen, must invest billions in the coming years to master the transformation.

The company plans to increase its investments in the areas of commercial vehicle technology, chassis solutions, industrial technology and aftermarket while reducing jobs. A particular focus of the restructuring, given the high competitive and cost pressure and the weak market development for electric cars, is on the Electrified Drive Technologies division. "Despite the current market situation, it's clear: the future belongs to electric mobility. We have made advance payments here and will continue to invest heavily in this area," explains ZF CEO Klein.

The company assumes that the shift towards electric mobility will lead to declining volumes of transmissions for conventional and hybrid vehicles. This development should also be taken into account. In addition, there is currently a drastic lack of demand for purely electric vehicles, which leads to overcapacity in the production lines for electric drives set up with high investments, according to ZF in a press release.

Around 169,000 people work for ZF worldwide. Approximately 10,300 people are employed at Lake Constance. ZF is present at more than 160 production sites in 31 countries. In 2023, the company achieved a turnover of around 46.6 billion euros. (dm)