Tyre and plastics technology group Continental wants to cut 3,000 jobs worldwide at its plastics technology subsidiary Contitech, including 1,600 in Germany, with the company and the IGBCE union reaching an agreement on the framework conditions, they said on Thursday.
The union said the deal amounted to a comprehensive transformation package.
The agreement governs the socially responsible reduction of about 1,600 jobs in Germany, the company said. Some of the affected activities will be relocated abroad. Redundancies for operational reasons are to be avoided until at least the end of 2030, IGBCE said.
Savings of €150 million
The cuts are part of the cost-saving programme Continental announced in November that calls for €150 million ($177 million) in yearly savings, starting in 2028. The company said jobs would be cut to achieve this, but had not previously given exact figures.
"We cannot prevent job cuts," IGBCE executive board member Francesco Grioli said in the statement, but the agreements would mitigate the impact on employees affected by the cuts.
They would also create "prospects at German sites," he said, including investment commitments. "So for all the pain, the package is something to show for it."
Contitech said it would "make all measures as socially responsible as possible." The package of measures agreed includes a voluntary programme, early retirement arrangements and targeted placement of those affected into other jobs internally and externally.
Spin-off planned by year-end
Contitech had previously announced plant closures in several German states last year. The division currently employs more than 20,000 people worldwide, including about 7,700 in Germany. Contitech supplies, among other things, hoses, drive belts and conveyor belts for the industry.
Continental is currently looking for a buyer for the subsidiary. The group aims to separate from Contitech by the end of the year. Only the company's established tyre business is to remain within the group. IGBCE said the agreement explicitly also applies to a future buyer of Contitech.
