Bosch to cut 1,100 jobs in new blow to German auto sector

FRANKFURT: German car parts giant Bosch said on Tuesday it would cut 1,100 jobs at a site in southern Germany in the latest blow to Germany's ailing automotive industry.

German carmakers have struggled in recent years to keep up with increasingly fierce competition from Chinese competitors, hitting upstream suppliers.

"The European market for steering systems is driven by price and hard fought with new suppliers," said Bosch's electronics chief Dirk Kress.

"The required cuts are not easy but they are essential to secure the future of the site," he added.

Sales volumes of steering systems were declining partly as a result of the sluggish uptake of electric vehicles, Bosch said in a statement.

"Manufacturing steering systems at the Reutlingen site is no longer competitive," Bosch said, adding that the plant would now focus on manufacturing semiconductors.

The cuts would hit about one in ten workers at the site, including those on the assembly line as well as in back-office roles, it said.

The company did not say whether the cuts would involve compulsory redundancies or rely on voluntary measures such as early retirement.

Fellow automotive suppliers Schaeffler and Continental have made layoffs in the past year while sports car maker Porsche last Friday warned workers of a "serious situation" amid collapsing demand in China.

Bosch itself last November announced 5,500 layoffs across the company.