Electric vehicles have negative bearing on Schaeffler
German manufacturer slashes jobs, shuts plants as product demand declines
Frankfurt — German bearings maker Schaeffler says it will cut 900 jobs, shut plants and reduce its product range after its 2018 earnings slumped due to weak demand in Europe and China. Its shares traded 8.5% weaker on Wednesday after the company, which also supplies bearings to industry, announced a new restructuring programme which would cost €60m in 2019. CEO Klaus Rosenfeld described it as “braking and accelerating at the same time”, as the programme aims to improve earnings by €90m, or the earnings before interest and taxes (ebit) margin by 100 basis points, in its initial phase. “We anticipate that the environment, especially in the global automotive business, will remain extremely demanding and challenging. At the same time, we expect the global economy to slow down further,” he said. Schaeffler said 2018 adjusted ebit fell 13% to €1.38bn , while revenue rose 3.9% . It expects revenue to grow by 1%-3% in 2019 and sees an ebit margin before special items of 8%-9%. Rosenfeld sai...
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