German auto parts manufacturer Continental plans to lay off approximately 7,150 people in its automotive division. The agency reports that Bloomberg.
The goal is to increase business competitiveness in the context of the transition to electric vehicles. The reduction will affect approximately 3.6% of the company’s global workforce. Approximately 1,750 positions in research and development and 5,400 positions in administrative departments will be eliminated. The publication writes that about 40 percent of the layoffs will affect workers in Germany.
Continental is also considering the possibility of merging some of its production sites in Germany and other countries. The company plans to reduce R&D costs to 9% of sales by 2028, compared to 12% this year.
Before that, it was known that Microsoft had decided to lay off about 2,000 employees from its Xbox gaming division. The cuts were announced by Xbox head Phil Spencer, who said that mostly Activision Blizzard employees would be laid off.
Previously IBM requested the return of employees to offices.