Schaeffler plans 3,460 job cuts, five site closures

German auto parts supplier Schaeffler said Tuesday that it plans to cut 3,460 jobs and close five sites in Europe as pressure grows on the region's car industry.

The company said three-fourths of the job cuts and four of the five site closures will be in Germany. The cuts, due to be completed by 2028, amount to about 3 percent of Schaeffler's global workforce of nearly 110,000 and are expected to save about 300 million euros, or $336 million, a year from 2030.

Schaeffler said it was responding to a persistently difficult automotive market, citing weaker demand for internal combustion engine vehicles, a delayed ramp-up of electric mobility and intensifying competition.

The cuts will mainly affect production and research and development. Schaeffler said sites will close in Berlin, Dortmund, two other towns in western Germany and a small site in Belgium. There will also be job cuts at sites in France and Slovakia.

The company said some job losses would be offset by new positions in areas including humanoid robotics and defence.

German auto suppliers have been hit as customers including Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes face Chinese competition, high production costs and weakening demand. Volkswagen is planning to cut about 120,000 jobs across its brands by 2030, while Bosch announced 13,000 job cuts last year, mostly in its auto division.