ZF Friedrichshafen, part of ZF Group, plans to slash a quarter of its electronic transmission workforce by 2030This adds to a wider staff reduction, to 14,000 employeesThe company hopes to save €500 million by 2027
I guarantee that appliances in your home kitchen will be entirely or partially made in Germany. Take cookers… if you fry sunny-side eggs on a Neff, AEG or Miele hob, then your cooker is made in Germany. Braun may tick two parts of your wake-up routine, brushing your teeth and having a shave, originating in Frankfurt in the 1920’s. I suspect you have heard of Siemens, whose array of industries is longer than what GmbH stands for (the German version of LLC in the US and Ltd in the UK… trust me, it’s a mouthful), and of course Bosch, who had a turnover of €90 billion (almost $100 billion) in 2024. Bosch contribute massively to the worldwide auto industry, as does ZF Group.
Related: ZF’s Clever, New Range-Extending Tech May Keep Gas Engines Alive
The Sheer Impact of ZF Group on Global Cars
For over 100 years, ZF Group has become a go-to supplier of transmissions. When I say this, glance at the companies that have used them. Among many, from the UK are Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Rolls Royce, in Germany there is BMW, Audi and Volkswagen, from Italy are Alfa Romeo and Maserati, and the US have Dodge, Jeep and Ford. Drive a Jeep Wrangler..? Dodge Ram..? Range Rover..? All ZF transmissions. And this is thinking since 2008, and their 8-speed automatics only. For the whole company history, this list is enormous.
So Why The Cutbacks… And What’s The Impact?
Despite success, the new CEO Mathias Miedreich hailed this decision as exploring new ways to grow, offering early retirement and severance package schemes to entice employees to leave. For those staying, shorter working hours and an expected wage increase being postponed are planned. All to reduce expenditure by nearly $600 million, a colossal figure. High debts from company acquisitions, a decline in worldwide markets, and global uncertainty of the effect of US tariffs, all contribute to drastic corporate steps. The aforementioned Bosch is no different, announcing 13,000 job cuts themselves recently. The entire German automotive sector has cut 55,000 jobs since 2023, reflecting a nationwide wave of anxiety.
The reality is that when we hear of a German automotive supplier making difficult decisions to axe their employees, despite the local auto union IG Matell being involved and months of employee protests, this has a ripple throughout the whole world. This is not just at risk of affecting the locality of southern Germany. If economic success and product quality has cracks appearing, then from the suburbs of Alabama, the glamour of London’s West End, and the cobbled streets of Florence, this will impact cars in the most fundamental ways.
