Supplier industry: Schaeffler: Run on partial retirement

The possibility of partial retirement is very popular with the employees of the supplier company Schaeffler. More people took advantage of it than management had hoped.

Herzogenaurach. The partial retirement program launched by the automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler in August has been better received than company management initially expected. Instead of the hoped-for 1,300 employees who were supposed to commit to partial retirement, 1,800 men and women born in 1971 and older have already accepted the proposal, said CEO Klaus Rosenfeld in Herzogenaurach.

A program launched in 2024 to voluntarily cut 4,700 jobs at Schaeffler by the end of 2029 is also running faster than planned. By September 30, 2026, 3,715 jobs will have already been achieved. According to current planning, the target will be reached at the end of 2028 - one year earlier than planned. Contractual agreements already exist for the 985 positions still to be cut.

The hoped-for savings of 290 million euros would probably be exceeded by 20 percent, said Rosenfeld. An amount of around 500 million euros was set aside for the restructuring. Provisions amounting to 84 million euros could now be released.