"With these planned measures, we are responding to market changes in individual customer sectors—particularly the severe, persistent declines in demand," Philip Nelles, member of the Continental Executive Board and head of the ContiTech group sector said in a statement. "… The painful steps we are initiating are necessary to reposition the company for sustained economic growth. Given the current economic headwinds and accelerating pace of technological transformation, we must take action now to safeguard our future and drive forward our strategic realignment."
Further, Continental intends to scale back the activities of the future independent business area Original Equipment Solutions (OESL) at the Hamburg, Germany, location. The company also plans to relocate a production line from its Hanover-Vahrenwald location to an automotive site to prepare for the Automotive group sector spin-off.
Nelles noted that the company is "committed" to enacting these measures in a "socially responsible" way and will—to the best of its ability—work with the impacted employees to find positions both within and outside the company.