It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, May 09, 2026
Continental subsidiary cuts 3,000 jobs globally
07.05.2026, DPA
Photo: Ole Spata/dpa
Tyre and plastics technology group Continental wants to cut 3,000 jobs worldwide at its plastics technology subsidiary Contitech, including 1,600 in Germany, with the company and the IGBCE union reaching an agreement on the framework conditions, they said on Thursday.
The union said the deal amounted to a comprehensive transformation package.
The agreement governs the socially responsible reduction of about 1,600 jobs in Germany, the company said. Some of the affected activities will be relocated abroad. Redundancies for operational reasons are to be avoided until at least the end of 2030, IGBCE said.
Savings of €150 million
The cuts are part of the cost-saving programme Continental announced in November that calls for €150 million ($177 million) in yearly savings, starting in 2028. The company said jobs would be cut to achieve this, but had not previously given exact figures.
"We cannot prevent job cuts," IGBCE executive board member Francesco Grioli said in the statement, but the agreements would mitigate the impact on employees affected by the cuts.
They would also create "prospects at German sites," he said, including investment commitments. "So for all the pain, the package is something to show for it."
Contitech said it would "make all measures as socially responsible as possible." The package of measures agreed includes a voluntary programme, early retirement arrangements and targeted placement of those affected into other jobs internally and externally.
(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH
Porsche to close three subsidiaries, about 500 jobs affected
08.05.2026, DPA
Photo: Marijan Murat/dpa
Germany's struggling sports car manufacturer Porsche plans to close three subsidiaries as part of its efforts to "focus on its core business."
The affected units are battery specialist Cellforce Group, Porsche E-Bike Performance and the software subsidiary Cetitec , Porsche announced on Friday.
About 500 employees are affected. Just two weeks ago, the company also announced its intention to sell its stake in the luxury sports car manufacturer Bugatti.
According to chief executive Michael Leiters, Porsche was being forced “to make painful cuts – including at our subsidiaries.” A timeline for the closures has not yet been specified.
Porsche eBike Performance was originally founded to develop e-bike drive systems. According to the statement, operations are being discontinued due to fundamentally changed market conditions. A total of about 350 jobs are affected in Germany and Croatia.
At the software firm Cetitec, around 60 employees in Germany and 30 in Croatia are affected by the planned wind-up.
Leiters had already signalled additional job reductions during his first public appearance in March, on top of an initial cost-cutting package.
Around 1,900 jobs are set to be cut in the Stuttgart region by 2029 in what the company describes as a socially responsible manner. In addition, contracts for roughly 2,000 temporary workers have already expired.
Negotiations over a second round of cost-cutting measures have been ongoing for some time but have yet to produce a result.
Industrial plant maker Festo to cut 1,300 jobs in Germany
08.05.2026, DPA
Photo: Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
The German industrial plant manufacturer Festo plans to cut about 1,300 jobs in the country.
Market changes, increasing competition from Asia and geopolitical crises have posed significant challenges for Festo, the family-owned company announced on Friday.
Faced by the tougher market conditions, the company is focusing on a global transformation programme to boost growth and efficiency, it said. To achieve the financial leeway required for the restructuring, Festo aims to streamline its structures in Germany.
The jobs are to be cut across various departments.
“In consultations, the company and the works council are discussing how these job cuts can be implemented as responsibly and socially responsibly as possible,” Festo said in a statement.
Globally, the company aims to save €200 million ($235 million) annually. Jobs would also be cut abroad, chief executive Thomas Böck was quoted as saying in the Stuttgarter Zeitung and the Stuttgarter Nachrichten newspapers.
Böck ruled out any site closures in Germany.
The IG Metall union voiced strong criticism of the planned job cuts and said the news had taken the employees completely by surprise.
At the end of 2025, the company employed around 20,600 staff. Approximately 8,200 of them worked in Germany.
However, the sluggish economic situation had weighed on the family-owned company’s business. Turnover fell by 3.7% in 2025 to around €3.33 billion, the third consecutive annual decline.
Festo specializes in control and automation technology for industry. The company’s products include devices that operate using compressed air, as well as software and AI systems.
Commerzbank plans 3,000 job cuts, warns against UniCredit plans
08.05.2026, DPA
Photo: Michael Brandt/dpa
By Jörn Bender, dpa and Steffen Weyer, dpa-AFX
Germany's Commerzbank plans to cut around 3,000 more full-time jobs across the group by 2030, the DAX-listed lender said on Friday, while warning against further proposed cost-saving measures.
The bank, which is facing a takeover approach from Italy's UniCredit, said the new cuts would come on top of previously announced savings measures, although jobs would also be created in growth and future-oriented areas.
However, the German lender warned against Unicredit plans to reduce staffing costs by a further €800 million ($940.8 million), noting in a presentation that this would entail a further 7,000 job losses.
“Such extensive job cuts would have a negative impact on our business in Germany," Commerzbank wrote.
Unicredit estimates the potential savings at Commerzbank at €1.3 billion by 2028. The Frankfurt-based bank describes this estimate as “very aggressive.”
For the cuts to take effect in 2028, they would have to be implemented within six months of a takeover in 2027. Commerzbank warned of high execution risks, and said the bank could face immense earnings losses in this scenario.
Commerzbank employed 39,867 full-time staff worldwide at the end of 2025.
In February 2025, Commerzbank announced plans to cut 3,900 full-time jobs by the end of 2027, with most of the reductions in Germany. At the same time, the bank said it intended to create new positions, particularly abroad, including at its Polish subsidiary mBank and at locations in Asia.
Additionally, Commerzbank reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter 2026 results, posting an operating profit of around €1.36 billion ($1.6 billion) and net income of €913 million, both roughly 10% higher year-on-year and above analyst expectations.
For 2025 as a whole, the Frankfurt-based lender reported a net profit of just over €2.6 billion, narrowly below its record result of around €2.7 billion in 2024, despite higher costs linked to ongoing restructuring.
Commerzbank raises 2026 outlook
Under its revised strategy, Commerzbank now expects stronger earnings going forward, targeting net profit of at least €3.4 billion in 2026, €200 million more than previously planned. It aims to increase this to €4.6 billion by 2028 and €5.9 billion by 2030.
UniCredit chief executive Andrea Orcel recently criticized what he described as Commerzbank's below-average operational performance over several years, warning that without a strategic reset, the lender's medium-term survival could be at risk. UniCredit reported a record quarterly profit of €3.2 billion for the first quarter of 2026.
The Italian bank, which according to recent disclosures holds around 30% of Commerzbank shares and plans to increase its stake via a share swap in the coming weeks, has also outlined a restructuring plan in the event of a takeover.
Commerzbank management, works council and employees have for months resisted what they describe as Orcel's "hostile" approach. The German government also opposes a hostile takeover. The state, which rescued Commerzbank during the 2008/09 financial crisis with billions in aid, still holds around 12% of the lender.
(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH
German vaccine maker BioNTech to cut up to 1,860 jobs, close plants
05.05.2026, DPA
Photo: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
By Bernd Glebe, dpa
German vaccine manufacturer BioNTech, which rose to global prominence with its Covid-19 vaccine developed alongside Pfizer, plans to close several production sites, with up to 1,860 jobs affected.
The Mainz-based company on Tuesday attributed the cuts to overcapacity and cost-cutting measures. The plans also extend to facilities tied to its recently acquired rival CureVac, as BioNTech streamlines its manufacturing footprint.
Sites in Idar-Oberstein, Marburg and Tübingen in Germany are scheduled to close by the end of 2027. Operations in Singapore are expected to cease in the first quarter of 2027.
BioNTech expects the measures to deliver recurring annual savings of up to €500 million ($580 million) once fully implemented in 2029. The funds are to be redirected towards the research, development and commercial rollout of cancer therapies, reflecting the company’s growing focus on oncology.
The announcement comes amid declining revenues from Covid-19 vaccines.
In the first quarter, BioNTech reported revenue of €118.1 million, down from €182.8 million a year earlier, primarily due to weaker vaccine sales. Net loss widened to €531.9 million from €415.8 million, which the company attributed to higher spending on immuno-oncology programmes.
The group posted a billion-euro loss for 2025 as a whole, underscoring the financial impact of falling income and rising development costs.
For 2026, BioNTech expects revenues of between €2-2.3 billion, while forecasting further declines in Covid-19 vaccine sales in both Europe and the United States. The company is preparing a variant-adapted Covid-19 vaccine for the 2026-27 immunization season.
Following its acquisition of CureVac, the company aims to submit multiple regulatory applications for oncology treatments by 2030 as it seeks to establish a stronger foothold in the cancer treatment market.
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