HANOVER, Germany—Continental A.G. is ruling nothing out when it comes to cost-saving measures intended to right-size operations and manage profitability as the automotive industry continues to contract and the global economic downturn from the COVID-19 pandemic worsens.
The global auto supplier said Sept. 1 that it will expand cost-saving efforts set in 2019, eyeing a gross annual savings goal of about $1.19 billion beginning in 2023. This more than doubles its previous savings aims.
"That is a huge number," Ariane Reinhart, Continental's executive board member for human relations, said in a video statement. "It will demand a lot from us in the short term and push us to our limits. All business units will be called on to contribute in Germany and abroad."
To this end, the company is expediting its automation processes, reducing labor costs, closing and consolidating some of its locations and preparing to sell unprofitable operations.
Combined, these efforts could directly impact as many as 30,000 jobs worldwide through modification, relocation or layoffs. About 13,000 of the jobs expected to experience some impact are in Germany.