Schaeffler to cut 3,460 European jobs while betting on humanoid robotics
Schaeffler will cut a net 3,460 European jobs and close five sites, saying humanoid robotics and defense should offset part of the loss, without giving numbers.
Schaeffler announced on 3 November that it will remove a net 3,460 positions in Europe and shut five sites. Germany takes about 2,660 of the cuts. The plan costs roughly €480 million in one-time charges, mostly booked in 2026, and should save about €300 million a year by 2030. Half the affected roles are in production and 30% in research and development.
The closures include the Dortmund plant with 430 staff and the Morbach site with 160, both making parts for combustion engines. Berlin, Schwalbach and a small site in Herstal, Belgium, also close. CEO Klaus Rosenfeld said German personnel costs are about 2.5 times those elsewhere in Europe and did not rule out more cuts after 2028.
The company says new work in humanoid robotics and defense will make up for at least some of the losses. Its humanoid orders stood at around €400 million as of 20 October, though that counts orders, not revenue.
Why it matters
The numbers show how uneven the shift is. Robotics made up less than 1% of group sales in 2025, while the powertrain and chassis division alone earned €6.3 billion in nine months. Schaeffler has not said how many robotics or defense jobs it will add, when they will appear, who its two newest Chinese customers are, or whether robotics engineering is hit by the R&D cuts. Watch for those details, and for the planned 2027 start of mass production of strain wave gearboxes.
