ZF Friedrichshafen Cuts 14,000 Jobs After €2.1 Billion Loss as EV Shift Hits German Towns
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 10
ZF Friedrichshafen Cuts 14,000 Jobs After €2.1 Billion Loss as EV Shift Hits German Towns
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 10
Summary
ZF Friedrichshafen is eliminating up to 14,000 jobs in Germany—about a quarter of its domestic workforce—after posting a €2.1 billion loss last year.
The supplier’s downturn reflects the rocky shift to electric vehicles and mounting pressure from Chinese automakers, undermining a business long built around transmissions and other traditional auto parts.
In Friedrichshafen, which owns more than 90% of ZF through a foundation, annual payouts have fallen from more than €100 million in good years to €41 million last year and are expected to be zero this year.
That shortfall is already hitting local services: child care fees that had been heavily subsidized by ZF profits rose to €450 a month from €158, prompting protests outside city hall.
The strain shows how Germany’s auto-industry upheaval is spreading beyond factory floors, squeezing municipal budgets in towns tied closely to major suppliers.