The German automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen plans to cut up to 14,000 of the 54,000 jobs in Germany by the end of 2028. The group announced this on Friday in Friedrichshafen. Jobs are to be cut not only in production, but also in administration and development – as far as possible in a socially acceptable manner, with part-time retirement and severance pay programs. In Austria, around 800 people work for the company at its Lebring, Steyr and Vienna locations: locations outside Germany are not affected by the job cuts, the group said in response to an OÖN query.
“In view of the high competitive and cost pressure and the weak market development for electric cars, a particular focus of the restructuring is on the Electrified Drive Technologies division,” explained ZF.
The extent to which reductions are planned at the locations is now being specified. “The reduction should be carried out in a socially acceptable manner as far as possible by ZF the demographic structure of the workforce and the fluctuation.” ZF plans to establish several site networks with leaner structures.
The General Works Council has announced its opposition to the company’s planned job cuts. “We will fight for every single job,” said ZFWorks council chairman Achim Dietrich said the announcement stirred up fears “when we actually need full commitment to supplying customers, overcoming the recession and transformation.”
The heavily indebted company imposed a strict cost-cutting program on itself in the spring. This year and next year, costs worldwide are to be reduced by around six billion euros, it said in February. ZF to be better positioned to address the further transition to e-mobility from 2026 onwards.
ZF-CEO Holger Klein had already announced in April that the number of employees in Germany would not be able to be maintained 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 suppliers,” he explained.
Group has high debts
The main reason for the cost-cutting measures is the group’s high level of debt. This is primarily due to the acquisition of the automotive supplier TRW and the brake specialist Wabco. The group is currently paying hundreds of millions of euros in interest – which is missing in research and development, for example. At the same time, the automotive supplier, which is majority owned by the Zeppelin Foundation of the city of Friedrichshafen, will have to invest billions in the coming years in order to master the transformation.
Around 169,000 people worldwide work for ZFAround 10,300 people are employed on Lake Constance. ZF is represented at more than 160 production sites in 31 countries. In 2023, the company achieved sales of around 46.6 billion euros.
