Schaeffler will pay €480m now for €300m annual savings later

The German auto supplier plans to cut 3,460 European roles and close five sites, with about 2,660 job losses in Germany. Production and R&D account for roughly 80% of affected roles, making this a capacity reset across the business rather than a head-office trim. Schaeffler expects €300 million of annual earnings improvement from 2030, against €480 million in one-off restructuring costs, most booked in 2026. The payback depends on managing closures without damaging customer delivery or engineering needed for newer markets.