Schaeffler speeds up job cuts – Claas confirms EUR 70m Paderborn expansion

Data as of: As of 13 October 2026, 7:30 am

Car parts supplier Schaeffler, based in Herzogenaurach (Bavaria), is moving faster with its savings plan. By the end of September, 3,715 of the 4,700 planned jobs in Europe had gone, about 79%. The company says agreements are already in place for the remaining 985. Schaeffler now aims to finish by the end of 2028 instead of 2029 (dpa-AFX, 12 October). About 2,800 of the jobs are in Germany. The programme was announced in November 2024. The savings target of EUR 290m a year from 2029 is to be beaten by more than 20%. 1,768 employees have signed up for partial early retirement, against about 1,300 expected.

Farm machinery maker Claas confirmed its Paderborn expansion (North Rhine-Westphalia) in a press release on Monday. It will invest 'more than EUR 70m' in the coming years and create 'more than 100 additional' jobs. About 600 people work at the site today, making tractor transmissions and crawler tracks. No new factory with a firm amount was reported since Monday morning.

Background: a study by Prognos for the state development bank KfW says Germany needs about EUR 6,000bn of investment by 2045 to become climate-neutral. The state would carry only 12%. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) publishes final September inflation today at 8 am; it was not yet out at our deadline. The preliminary rate was 3.3%, with energy 14.9% dearer than a year earlier. There were 2,373 company insolvencies in July, 8.0% more than a year before.

The table has one new entry (Schaeffler). The totals are unchanged: EUR 2.47bn of investment and 5,840 announced job cuts with a firm number. Schaeffler is not counted because the cuts were announced in 2024. To keep the table at 25 rows, the oldest entry without a number (Galeria insolvency filing) was removed.