{"text":[[{"start":8.72,"text":"One of Germany’s largest automotive suppliers is axing 3,500 jobs and will close four German sites as the crisis engulfing the country’s flagship industry deepens."}],[{"start":18.88,"text":"Schaeffler, a car parts maker with €23.5bn in annual revenue and 110,000 staff globally, announced on Tuesday that three quarters of the cuts would be in Germany. Including a sweeping restructuring in late 2024, the company will have slashed a quarter of its workforce in its home country."}],[{"start":37.96,"text":"Germany’s automotive industry is one of the backbones of European manufacturing but has come under existential pressure in recent years from the shift to electric vehicles, high labour costs, aggressive new competitors from China and lacklustre demand for new cars across the continent."}],[{"start":53.44,"text":"Volkswagen, Germany’s largest industrial employer, is cutting 100,000 jobs and plans to close four factories after striking a historic deal with its powerful trade unions in September."}],[{"start":65.12,"text":"Family-controlled Schaeffler, which supplies both German and international carmakers, said on Tuesday that the new cuts were needed to reduce “overcapacity in production as well as in research and development”. Its shares are down 30 per cent this year."}],[{"start":79.48,"text":"In July, Schaeffler warned that 2028 revenue would be about 11 per cent lower than previously expected at €25bn, using the midpoint of its guidance range, compared with €28bn previously."}],[{"start":92.64,"text":"The company is also asking its top executives and other staff to temporarily waive parts of their pay in a “solidarity contribution” to “lower costs per employee”. The details of the arrangement are still under discussion."}],[{"start":105.76,"text":"Schaeffler chief executive Klaus Rosenfeld said in a statement that the new round of cuts would put the group’s German production base on a sustainable footing: “It is both possible and sensible to develop and manufacture in Germany and Europe in a way that is competitive and cost-efficient over the long term.”"}],[{"start":123.42,"text":"In October, falling sales volumes led to a €240mn impairment to its electric drivetrains division because of “surplus” production equipment."}],[{"start":138.23,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793706409_2709.mp3"}