Closure of four ContiTech plants in Germany. Details

In 2025, Continental will close four German plants of its ContiTech division, which produces various products made of rubber, plastic, metal, and textiles. Production will be stopped at plants in Bad Blankenburg (Thuringia), Stölzeneau (Lower Saxony), and Mörse (North Rhine-Westphalia), as well as at the combined site in Frohburg and Geithain (Saxony). Additionally, the personnel of the Original Equipment Solutions (OESL) structure in Hamburg will be reduced, and part of the production from the Hanover plant will be relocated to the Czech Republic. In total, around 580 people will lose their jobs.

According to ContiTech CEO Philip Nelles, the new measures are related to the fact that the company is forced to adapt to changes in the market, in particular to the sustained decline in demand, and the special problems created by new trends in the automotive industry and the abandonment of brown coal in Europe.

The closure of the plants will be carried out as part of a larger restructuring of Continental, under which, as previously reported, more than 7,000 people will be laid off. The goal of the program is to ensure a reduction in expenses of 400 million euros per year.

"The painful steps we intend to take are necessary to ensure the sustainable economic growth of the company," Nelles emphasized. "Given the current economic complexities and the accelerating pace of technological transformation in various industries, we must take action now to guarantee our development in the future. We intend to implement the planned restructuring in a maximally socially responsible manner, so that as many employees as possible can switch to other divisions of the company."

Currently, ContiTech employs around 39,000 people in 37 countries, and the German branch of the company has 11,000 employees. The restructuring will be carried out as follows:

Bad Blankenburg. The production of conveyor belts will be stopped, and the plant will be closed. 185 people will be laid off. The closure of the enterprise is due to a decline in demand due to the gradual abandonment of brown coal in Europe. Currently, the plant's products are mainly supplied to South America, where ContiTech also operates a plant in Ponta Grossa (Brazil).

Stölzeneau: The plant produces protective covers for the trunk. It is noted that the market for such products has not recovered as expected, and demand has fallen sharply, and since the plant produces only one type of product, it is heavily dependent on a small number of customers. Currently, production is working at a reduced load, and, as ContiTech says, "no improvement in the situation is expected." Earlier, the company tried to sell the site, but failed to find a buyer. The possibility of transferring production to another plant was also considered, but this option turned out to be "financially unfeasible." 110 people will be laid off.

Mörse. The plant produces specialized conveyor belts, the demand for which has also fallen, and since this is a niche product, its production cannot be transferred to another site. For this reason, it was decided to remove it from ContiTech's range. The plant employs 47 people.

Geithain and Frohburg: The site produces blow-molded press molds, which are also in limited demand. It is noted that efforts were made to restructure the product portfolio, but ultimately, all possible solutions were found to be economically unprofitable, and production will be stopped with the layoff of 58 people.

Hanover (Farenwald): The ContiTech plant in Hanover produces cylinders for pneumatic suspension of passenger cars as part of a partnership with Continental Automotive, another division of the concern. Since Automotive will soon become a separate company, production will be relocated to the structure's plant in Jicin (Czech Republic). The production of air cylinders in Hanover will be stopped in the first half of 2026, and the relocation of production will affect 126 people. At the same time, the plant will remain one of the key sites for ContiTech.

Hamburg. Soon, Continental will also transform the Original Equipment Solutions (OESL) structure into an independent company, which supplies RTI to automakers. The business, which employs more than 16,000 people in 16 countries, is planned to be sold, and the process should begin in the first quarter of 2025. As part of the restructuring, the personnel of the department in Hamburg will be reduced (53 out of 107 people will lose their jobs), and the work on the production and testing of prototypes will be carried out by specialists of the division in Münden (Lower Saxony), where the main OESL laboratory will be located.