GERMAN auto supplier Continental said on Wednesday (Feb 14) it would cut some 7,150 posts worldwide by 2025 as the difficult switch to electric vehicles forces companies in the sector to retool.

The group, which makes tyres and supplies components to automakers, said it would shed 1,750 jobs in research and development.

It would also lose around 5,400 posts as part of a previously announced cost-cutting programme aimed at saving the group 400 million euros (S$579.2 million) by 2025.

Continental, which currently employs around 200,000 people worldwide, announced the plan in November without putting a precise figure on the number of jobs that would go.

“We are aware of the impact on our employees and will do everything we can to find good, tailored solutions (for employees),” Continental’s automotive chief Philipp von Hirschheydt said.

The cuts would allow Continental to “focus our resources even more on future technologies for software-defined vehicles”, von Hirschheydt said.

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Germany’s auto suppliers have been facing problems as the transition to electric mobility gathers pace, after decades relying on fossil fuel vehicles for their profits.

Continental is also the latest German manufacturer to announce job cuts as the country’s export-focussed industry contends with a global slowdown in growth and high rates of inflation.

Appliance maker Miele said earlier this month it would eliminate up to 2,700 posts amid low demand for its products, while Bosch announced plans in December for 1,500 job cuts. AFP