Schaeffler Plans to Close 5 European Plants and Cut 3,460 Jobs

On November 3, the Schaeffler Group announced plans to close five factories in Europe, four in Germany and one in Belgium, and cut 3,460 jobs in Europe, about three-quarters of them in Germany. Schaeffler is a supplier to Volkswagen Group, General Motors and BMW Group and employs around 109,000 people worldwide. Under the new plan, about 9% of Schaeffler's 31,957 core positions in Germany will be cut by 2028; combined with the large-scale layoffs two years earlier, the total reduction in core German positions will reach about 18%. The company said labor costs in Germany are about 2.5 times those in other parts of Europe. On pay and management structure, Schaeffler's senior managers will give up 10% of their base salaries, the company plans to eliminate two management levels, and small pay cuts may also be implemented for frontline positions. The measures are expected to save about 300 million euros (about 2.236 billion yuan at current exchange rates) a year from 2030, while generating about 480 million euros (about 3.578 billion yuan at current exchange rates) in one-off expenses. The action is aimed at absorbing excess capacity, simplifying the business and simultaneously scaling back research and development spending. Previously, Schaeffler announced its previous restructuring plan in November 2024, targeting 4,700 job cuts in Europe and annual savings of about 290 million euros (about 2.161 billion yuan at current exchange rates) by 2029. A few weeks ago, Schaeffler announced the early completion of that previous restructuring plan. IG Metall and Schaeffler's works council criticized the new restructuring plan. Thomas Höhn, the union representative responsible for Schaeffler, said the aftereffects of the previous restructuring have not yet been fully absorbed, and a new round of proposals has already followed. In addition, Schaeffler is advancing business diversification, moving into humanoid robot components and the defense sector.