Continental seeking to be more competitive

FRANKFURT: Continental on Sunday said it is considering how to improve competitiveness of its automotive division but stopped short of commenting on a report that it could axe about 5,500 jobs worldwide.

"Continental is looking into further measures to strengthen the competitiveness of its Automotive division," a spokesman said in reply to emailed questions about the report by business publication Manager Magazin.

"This does not exclude possible changes of administrative structures to enable us to take quicker and more agile decisions in future, and to save on costs."

Once it has taken concrete decisions the company will publicise them internally and then inform the public, he added.

Manager Magazin earlier wrote that the multinational automotive parts manufacturer could cut about 5,500 jobs in the automotive division, more than 1,100 of which would be at its 30 locations in Germany.

The management board was aiming at saving 400 million euros (RM2bil) a year, it wrote.

The division employs about 25,000 people, equating to roughly a quarter of Continental's total workforce.

The cuts would be mostly in administration, with production and development jobs likely to be exempt, the magazine said.

The company on Wednesday said it expects a strong fourth quarter for its automotive business and higher growth than previously forecast in the global auto market this year, but it warned that its outlook for next year is slightly more conservative.