Schaeffler to cut 1,300 jobs as auto industry goes electric

(Reuters) -German automotive supplier Schaeffler plans to cut 1,300 jobs, or 1.6% of its global workforce, as the sector grapples with the shift from combustion engines to electric vehicles.

Schaeffler said the switch to electric cars was leading to overcapacity in products for combustion-engine vehicles, and automakers were continuing to cut back on development programmes for combustion engine cars.

Around three quarters of the cuts announced by Schaeffler on Tuesday will affect positions in administration and central functions in research and development for internal combustion engines, with the rest in production, it said.

The restructuring will save around 100 million euros ($99.92 million) a year. It will cause expenditures of about 130 million euros, the majority of which will be recognised as provisions in the fourth quarter, the Bavaria-based firm added.

Auto suppliers have struggled to shoulder the higher costs of making their components sustainable to meet carmakers' environmental targets, on top of rampant inflation and energy prices.

($1 = 1.0008 euros)

(Reporting by Tristan Chabba in Gdansk; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Susan Fenton)