Schaeffler plans further job cuts and tightens its cost-cutting course

Höhn said: "At Schaeffler, one downsizing program now follows the next before the consequences of the previous one have been dealt with. This is not a future concept for Germany's industrial base."

The decision raises questions for employees and the region. In the Herzogenaurach area, in Bavaria and at other locations in Germany, the consequences for jobs and long-term planning certainty are at the center of attention.

IG Metall is thus pointing to the danger of companies letting ongoing austerity programs follow one another without having already dealt with the previously announced consequences. It sees this as a problem for Germany's industrial base.

The specific details of the new program were not included in the available information. In particular, the extent of the job cuts, the timing and the impact on individual locations remain unclear.

Informing employees

The planned communication with the workforce is to take place through staff meetings. Employees are to be informed of the details at staff meetings.

Management therefore faces the task of explaining the further austerity measures in a comprehensible way and outlining the effects on employees, locations and regions. IG Metall has already publicly criticized the sequence of downsizing programs to date.

Significance for investors

The shares of the industrial supplier are coming into focus against the backdrop of the announced measures. Investors are paying particular attention to which costs are to be saved and how extensively Schaeffler will reduce its workforce and number of locations.

The already announced austerity phase is thus not ending but being extended. Further information on location issues and the precise design of the program is expected from the planned staff meetings.