(Reuters) -Germany’s second-largest automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen plans to take even more stringent cost-cutting measures in the event that global car production declines further, finance chief Michael Frick told WirtschaftsWoche magazine.
“We are below our projections,” the CFO said in an interview published on Thursday, and there are indications that even fewer cars will be produced worldwide in the second half of the year.
“Of course, ZF will then have to take additional cost-cutting measures,” he added.
ZF, which helps automakers develop gearboxes and hybrid drivetrains, has been grappling with falling sales and profits driven by weak demand and high costs associated with the shift to electric vehicles.
Apart from tariffs, Europe’s auto sector faces multiple hurdles, including high production costs, falling demand, rising competition from China and the shift to electric vehicles.
As part of its ongoing restructuring efforts, ZF plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs in Germany by 2028, which would amount to one in four jobs.
(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach, writing by Amir Orusov, editing by Miranda Murray)
