Schaeffler plans to reduce its European workforce by a net 3,460 positions as part of a further restructuring programme intended to remove manufacturing overcapacity and lower operating costs. Approximately 2,660 of the reductions would be in Germany, with measures affecting 16 locations across Europe. The German automotive and industrial components group also proposes to close five sites, four in Germany and one in Belgium, while adjusting development activities and specialist manufacturing functions elsewhere.
Around half the affected positions are in production, 30% in research and development and the remaining 20% in other functions. Most structural measures are scheduled for 2027 and 2028, and Schaeffler expects the programme to produce approximately €300m in annual earnings improvements from 2030. One-off expenses are projected at about €480m, most of which the company expects to recognise as restructuring provisions during 2026. These figures are forecasts for the proposed programme, not savings or charges already fully realised.
Schaeffler attributes the programme to declining demand for components used in internal combustion engine vehicles, slower growth in electric vehicle manufacturing and increasingly intense competition. When production lines run below their intended throughput, the cost of tooling, specialist staff and plant space has to be absorbed by fewer components. Development resources also remain tied to vehicle platforms whose expected manufacturing volumes have weakened, prompting the group to review engineering capacity alongside production rather than concentrating the cuts solely on factory operators.
Two proposed closures affect the Powertrain & Chassis division’s internal combustion engine operations. Schaeffler identifies Dortmund, which currently employs approximately 430 people, and Morbach, with about 160 staff, as sites it intends to close. Operations at its Berlin facility, employing roughly 270 people, would also end. The company additionally plans to close Schwalbach, although it expects a large proportion of that site’s approximately 385 workers to transfer to Frankfurt; it puts the associated position reductions at around 190.
The fifth planned closure concerns Herstal in Belgium, a production site employing approximately 15 people. Outside Germany, Schaeffler proposes adjustments to production and development capacity at Haguenau and Toulouse in France and Skalica and Kysuce in Slovakia. Details for individual locations are to be given at employee meetings, so the group-wide workforce figure cannot be treated as a confirmed breakdown of redundancies for each factory or department.
Schaeffler plans to discontinue toolmaking at Höchstadt and adjust special machinery manufacture at Erlangen and Schweinfurt, while further capacity and organisational changes are proposed at Herzogenaurach, Bühl, Höchstadt, Nuremberg and Regensburg. Those teams produce and maintain the equipment used in manufacturing operations, so changes to their capacity will have to be coordinated with ongoing customer programmes, component quality requirements and the transfer of work between locations.
Schaeffler’s German core workforce stood at 31,957 on 30 September 2026. The company describes its planned reduction of 2,660 positions as equivalent to approximately 9% of that reference group by 2028. It says the share would rise to approximately 18% when reductions from older programmes and 1,800 partial-retirement agreements signed in early October are also considered. Those earlier agreements are not an additional component of the newly announced 3,460-position reduction, and the comparison does not establish how many compulsory redundancies will ultimately take place.
Schaeffler also wants to negotiate a solidarity contribution involving temporary, voluntary reductions in compensation beginning at board level and extending through the management hierarchy and workforce. The detailed arrangements remain subject to consultation. The company expects that measure to improve its cost position in 2027 and 2028 and says the planned job reductions would otherwise be greater, although it has not provided a final employee-by-employee agreement or a quantified saving attributable to the contribution alone.
The latest programme follows the completion of restructuring measures announced in November 2024, with Schaeffler seeking to concentrate production and engineering expertise in selected locations. Such transfers involve more than relocating machinery: tools and process parameters must be validated at the receiving plant, customer requirements maintained and material flows adjusted without interrupting committed deliveries. The company has not published detailed production transfer schedules for every affected operation, and local consultation will shape the sequence of closures and changes to manufacturing functions.
Alongside the automotive restructuring, Schaeffler intends to expand activities based on its existing motion control, bearings and mechatronics technologies. Management has identified humanoid robotics and defence as potential growth areas, with some new roles expected to offset part of the proposed job losses. The company has not said those activities will absorb all affected employees or replace the output of closing factories. Its immediate programme remains concentrated on the European automotive original equipment business and associated development operations.
Discussions with employee representatives and works councils will determine the local implementation of site closures, transfers and proposed compensation measures. The company is aiming for socially responsible arrangements under its Future Accord, while scheduling most structural measures for 2027 and 2028. Its projected €300m annual improvement from 2030 depends on implementing the planned changes and achieving the associated cost reductions; the announced closure list and workforce figures remain proposals until those processes are completed.
