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ZF in Schweinfurt: 14,000 jobs gone, but the electrical division remains!
ZF in Schweinfurt announces massive job losses, but plans restructuring and emphasizes the continued existence of the electrical division.
ZF in Schweinfurt: 14,000 jobs gone, but the electrical division remains!
The situation at ZF in Schweinfurt brings with it turbulent times. As br.de reports, the company is facing massive job cuts that will affect not only the industry, but also the entire region. The deadline for negotiations between the general works council and IG Metall has already expired, which further increases the pressure on employees.
Sales of electric cars are making slow progress, especially when it comes to electromobility. However, ZF has a clear course: the “Division E” division should be retained, spin-offs or sales are not being discussed. Instead, the company has announced that a major restructuring will take place in the coming years.
Job cuts and savings
Particularly drastic cuts are expected by 2030. By then, 7,600 jobs in electromobility will be lost across Germany, which is part of the total of up to 14,000 jobs that ZF would like to cut in the next three years. This measure is not new, but has already been announced and is primarily intended to achieve over 500 million euros in savings by 2027. The aim is to restore the competitiveness of existing products by converting them on our own, as tagesschau.de also states.
In order to avoid redundancies for operational reasons, ZF is planning a severance program as well as qualification and transfer measures. However, the monthly burden on employees will increase noticeably due to a reduction in weekly working hours by around seven percent by the end of 2027 and a postponement of the collectively agreed wage increase for spring 2024.
Locations and future prospects
The Schweinfurt location is the largest ZF location in Bavaria with around 8,600 employees, of which 5,900 work in the field of electromobility. While the foundry in Nuremberg is well utilized and there are no reductions in working hours due to the current situation, there are similar challenges in other Bayern branches such as Auerbach, Thyrnau and Bayreuth. There is high uncertainty about possible job cuts, with a reduction from 1,000 to 300 employees by 2030 recently being discussed in Nuremberg.
The new ZF CEO Mathias Miedreich, who replaced his predecessor Holger Klein in a tense situation, emphasizes the need for tough cuts for employees in order to secure the future of the company. Miedreich is aware of the challenges and is pursuing partnerships for parts of the division to share costs. Development of some products is discontinued; In addition, it is currently being examined whether electric motors can be purchased more cheaply.
Overall, it shows that ZF is in a critical phase. “Joining forces” with the works council is seen as essential in order to navigate these stormy days together and find creative solutions that benefit both employees and the company.