At ZF, works councils and management have agreed on a future plan. The drive division, which also includes Saarbrücken, is not split off. However, employees have to accept cuts.
The important drive division now remains in the core area at ZF. The takeover by an investor is therefore excluded.
Important for the employees: You will probably do without money. A wage increase of 3.1 percent in the coming year will be moved by a few months, from April 2026 to October 2026. The weekly working hours will usually be reduced by around seven percent by the end of 2027 and further services are to be converted in time.
No operational Dismissal
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It has also been agreed that operational terminations should still not play a role. However, a job reduction is planned for the entire division of 7600 positions, especially through severance payments.
According to the company, the job cuts were already planned. Overall, the management expects savings of over half a billion euros.
ZF board: “master difficult times together”
“The aim is to strengthen our position as a top technologically leading top player in the market in the long term and to significantly increase our competitiveness. We are aware that the way there goes with hard cuts for our employees,” said Mathias Miedreich, CEO of ZF. Now it is important to master these “difficult times together”.
Saarbrücker IG Metall expects little effect on the location
IG Metall expects little effect on Saarbrücken at short notice. Furthermore, many areas in Saarland are very busy, due to a high demand for driven for combustion cars. “Especially in the question of reduction in working hours, we will hardly be affected by this,” said union representative Patrick Selzer. “It will also be manageable in the question of the shift in the increase in the increase in April of April of April next year next October next year.
In a video, the works council commented on the employees in a similar way. So the whole location will not get a reduction in working time. Which departments it hits depend on the order situation and will be agreed between the plant management and the works council.
In addition, the works council announced that 375 positions will be dismantled for the location this and next year. In 2027 there will be 450 jobs.
Austerity measures already announced at the end of July
At the end of July, the ZF supervisory board had postponed a decision on the future of the Saarbrücken plant. At the sidelines of the Supervisory Board meeting, corporate management and employee side had agreed to work together for the drive division by the end of September. ZF also announced a sharper austerity course.
The SR Info messages on the radio also reported on this topic on October 1st, 2025.
