Closure mechatronics specialist Brose has launched a Future Brose renewal programme intended to save several hundred million euros which will see 2000 jobs lost in Germany.
Global competition is forcing the supplier to move jobs to low-wage countries. It plans to reduce the number of current jobs in Germany by around 2,000, mostly in the central and business divisions, by late 2022.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
This will primarily affect operations in Bamberg, Hallstadt, Coburg and Wuerzburg. Brose will relocate closure systems production from Wuppertal, where around 200 people are currently employed. Some 600 jobs will be eliminated in the Coburg, Wuerzburg, Hallstadt and Berlin plants.
CEO Kurt Sauernheimer said: "We will take decisive action. We want to improve quality, develop cutting edge product innovations and reduce costs in the mid three-digit million range to increase our competitiveness. This is necessary to secure orders, growth and work for our employees."
Workflows will be streamlined and hierarchies broken down, added Sauernheimer. Other measures include qualification and retraining of staff with regard to digitisation in development, administration and production. The supplier is therefore looking to hire more software and IT specialists.
"The transformation of the automotive industry, a declining market particularly in China, global price pressure but also internal causes have affected business development in the group," Brose said.
"The one-sided debate about climate change at the expense of the automotive industry adds to the uncertainty. Rising personnel and labour costs threaten the competitiveness of German manufacturers. The group is dealing with serious declines in earnings as well."
The company hopes to avoid compulsory redundancies as much as possible. Apprenticeship training will remain but the number will be reduced by 10% starting next year.
Ulrich Schrickel, executive vice president door, is heading the Future Brose programme.
"The current situation is not easy but we are optimistic about the future. The programme will strengthen our long-term competitiveness and we will be able to offer our customers a new level of comfort with intelligent, connected products," he said.
