Strategic realignment - ZF Automotive Supplier will cut up to 14,000 jobs
The automotive supplier ZF will reduce up to 14,000 jobs in Germany by the end of 2028. The company announced this on Friday in Friedrichshafen, but specific reductions at the locations have not yet been determined.
"The reduction should be as socially acceptable as possible, with ZF utilizing the demographic structure of the workforce and employee turnover," ZF plans to establish several site clusters with leaner structures. Currently, 54,000 people are employed by the company in Germany.
The heavily indebted company imposed a strict cost-cutting program on itself in the Spring. Worldwide, costs are planned to be reduced by approximately six billion Euros in this and the following year. The company aims to secure a better position to face the further transition to e-mobility after 2026.
ZF CEO Holger Klein had already announced in April that the number of employees in Germany would not be able to be maintained perspectively. "With the measures we are now announcing, we want to strengthen our competitiveness and consolidate our position as one of the leading global suppliers," he explained.
High debts burden ZF
The main reason for the cost-cutting measures is the high debts of the company. These primarily originate from the acquisition of the automotive supplier TRW and the brake specialist Wabco. The company currently pays hundreds of millions of Euros in interest - which for example are missing in areas of research and development. At the same time, the automotive supplier, which is mainly owned by the Zeppelin Foundation of the city Friedrichshafen, will have to invest billions in the coming years to master the transformation.
Worldwide, around 169,000 people work for ZF. Around 10,300 people are employed at the Lake Constance location. ZF is represented at more than 160 production sites in 31 countries. In 2023, the company generated a turnover of around 46.6 billion Euros.
- Despite being heavily indebted due to acquisitions like TRW and Wabco, ZF, a major automobile industry supplier primarily based in Friedrichshafen, Germany, aims to reduce worldwide costs by approximately six billion Euros in the spring and the following year.
- The supplier ZF, which has significant operations in Baden-Württemberg and employs over 54,000 people in Germany, plans to establish site clusters with leaner structures as part of its cost-cutting measures, aiming for a socially acceptable reduction of up to 14,000 jobs by the end of 2028.
- The spring season saw ZF, a leader in the global automobile industry, introduce a strict cost-cutting program to reduce its high debts and secure a better position for the transition to e-mobility after 2026, with plans to invest billions in the transformation process.
