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Europe’s auto suppliers – and their workers – feel the pressure
(EurActiv, 6 May 2024) Emrullah Karaca has made brakes for the past 20 years, but he is now learning to assemble heat pumps instead, as the Continental factory where he works in northern Germany is slated to close.
Production of the car component at the town of Gifhorn will end in 2027 and move to Croatia, the Czech Republic and Wales to keep the costs “competitive”, according to Continental, which will cut about 7,000 jobs worldwide.
The relocation means a new career for 49-year-old Karaca, one of a rising number of workers in companies supplying Germany’s vital automotive sector who are being hit by a tsunami of redundancies.
Facing up to the double shock of the end of combustion engines and rising competition from China, European suppliers like Bosch, ZF and Webasto have all announced cuts — which have piled up to the point where the issue has cast a shadow on the forthcoming EU elections.
Brussels has promised to do more to boost the domestic car industry and tackle unfair competition from cheaper Asian rivals.
But EU plans to outlaw the sale of new fossil fuel-powered cars from 2035, meaning some jobs will inevitably become redundant.
Battery switch
The upcoming closure to the Continental plant in Gifhorn has been the catalyst for Karaca and the other 800 employees working there to start retraining in another area.
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EurActiv, 6 May 2024: Europe’s auto suppliers – and their workers – feel the pressure
