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Irish writer Edna O’Brien, who ‘shattered silences’ about women’s lives, dies at 93

The writer Edna O’Brien, whose more than 60-year career included the 1960 novel “The Country Girls” that scandalised society in her native Ireland, died on Saturday aged 93, her agent said. O’Brien was named a commander of France’s Order of Arts and Letters in 2021 for her contributions to literature.


Issued on: 28/07/2024 - 

In this file photo, the Irish writer Edna O’Brien, second from right, stands next to actress Judy Dench (right), British writer Antonia Fraser (left) and Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall (second from left), at a reception for “The Duchess of Cornwall's Reading Room in London on October 26, 2021. © Ian Jones, AP

Edna O'Brien, the author who wrote of her native Ireland in such febrile prose, steeped in sex, love and religious angst, that it sparked national outrage and led to her self-imposed exile, has died aged 93, her agent said on Sunday.

Her 1960 literary debut stirred national contempt in then-staunchly Catholic and conservative Ireland, prompting a priest in her hometown to call for it to be burned. The culture minister of the time branded it "a smear on Irish womanhood".

But when a selection of her personal papers was added to Ireland's national library in 2021, Culture Minister Catherine Martin cited O'Brien's unique importance as a novelist and chronicler of a country that had once shunned and reviled her.

"Edna was a fearless teller of truths, a superb writer possessed of the moral courage to confront Irish society with realities long ignored and suppressed," Irish President Michael D. Higgins said in a statement on Sunday, describing O'Brien as a dear friend.

"While the beauty of her work was immediately recognised abroad, it is important to remember the hostile reaction it provoked among those who wished for the lived experience of women to remain far from the world of Irish literature... Thankfully Edna O'Brien's work is now recognised for the superb works of art which they are."

O'Brien died peacefully on Saturday after a long illness, her agent said in a statement.

In a career spanning more than 60 years, O'Brien wrote more than 20 novels and worked well into her 90s. Such was the universal appeal of her portrayal of women's experiences, she received France's highest cultural distinction in 2021.
‘Era-defining symbols’

Born in the western county of Clare in 1930, O'Brien grew up in a well-to-do Catholic family that had fallen on hard times. Educated at a convent, she fled her parents' guilt-inducing influence as a teenager to train as a pharmacist in Dublin.

In 1954, to the fury of her family, she married the Czech-Irish writer Ernest Gébler, 22 years her senior. They moved to London where she worked as a reader for a publishing house, which then commissioned her to write.

Her frank treatment of sexuality in a trilogy of novels that began with "The Country Girls" and included "The Lonely Girl" and "Girls in Their Married Bliss", scandalised Irish society. Her first six novels were banned by the Irish censor.

The moral hysteria that in particular greeted "The Country Girls", a novel based on the sexual awakening of two girls from the west of Ireland, ensured that O'Brien and the book became, for Irish novelist Eimear McBride, "era-defining symbols of the struggle for Irish women's voices to be heard".

"Edna's work shattered silences, broke open new ground, stirred deep recognitions," another Irish novelist Joseph O'Connor said in a tribute to O'Brien on her 90th birthday. "Writing is why she was put here."

Gébler's resentment of O'Brien's literary achievements later led to divorce. She was left alone with two young sons when it was scandalous to be a single mother.

A bohemian period that followed included a brief relationship with actor Robert Mitchum, and parties at her house in Chelsea where Laurence Olivier sang hymns, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson danced, and Ingrid Bergman arrived "in a coat with a high fur collar".

Vanity Fair called her the "Playgirl of the Western World," a reference to another Irish writer J.M. Synge's 1907 play "The Playboy of the Western World".

O'Brien also wrote five plays and four works of non-fiction.

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Her latest novel, "Girl", a 2019 tale about the girls kidnapped in Nigeria by Islamist Boko Haram militants, included research trips to West Africa while in her late 80s.

In 2015, Irish President Higgins apologised for the scorn once heaped on O'Brien in her now socially transformed homeland.

"I did not have that brilliant a life in many ways," O'Brien told The Guardian newspaper in 2020.

"It was quite difficult and that's not said in self-pity. But one thing that is true is that language and the mystery of language and the miracle of language has, as that lovely song Carrickfergus says, carried me over."

(Reuters)

Turkey debates fate of millions of stray dogs

Istanbul (AFP) – The Turkish parliament on Sunday started an emotional debate on a law aiming to clamp down on millions of stray dogs that opponents say could lead to a vast animal euthanasia campaign.

Issued on: 28/07/2024 - 

Animal rights groups have called for a mass sterilisation campaign and opposition parties have vowed to fight the law 

© Yasin AKGUL / AFP

The government estimates there are four million stray dogs and the law, which will be debated over several days, will allow the killing of sick animals and those with "negative behaviour".

The maximum fine for abandoning dogs would be increased 30-fold to 60,000 lira ($1,800).

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said ahead of the debate that Turkey faces a problem "like no other civilised country" which was "growing exponentially". A growing number of rabies cases particularly worries the government.

Authorities have denied however that they want a mass euthanasia. Erdogan said that people want "safe streets".

Animal rights groups have called for a mass sterilisation campaign and opposition parties have vowed to fight the law, even if it is passed in its current state.

The Republican People's Party, which controls Istanbul and other major cities, has said its mayors would not apply the law. Demonstrations have been held in recent weeks, including inside parliament.

The government has said mayors that refuse to carry out the law could be jailed. And it has banned visitors' access to parliament to avoid protests.

The debate has revived discussion of a 1910 measure under the Ottoman authorities when tens of thousands of stray dogs were rounded up in Istanbul and sent to a deserted island in the Marmara sea.

The dogs ate each other and most died of hunger.

© 2024 AFP

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for STRAY 

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=STRAYS

Wind, temperatures pick up as fire scorches northern California

Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Crews continued to fight a massive fire in northern California on Sunday, as authorities in the western US state warned of increasing winds and rising daytime temperatures.


Issued on: 29/07/2024 - 

Firefighters watch as flames and smoke move through a valley in the Forest Ranch area of Butte County as the Park Fire continues to burn near Chico, California, on July 26, 2024 © JOSH EDELSON / AFP

The so-called Park Fire outside of Chico had burned more than 357,000 acres (144,500 hectares) as of Sunday afternoon, said Cal Fire incident commander Billy See, making it the seventh-largest ever recorded in the state's history.

Progress was made amid light wind and cool weather Saturday, allowing firefighters to declare 12 percent of the blaze controlled, See told a news conference.

But he warned that as of Sunday, "we're starting to get some solar heating, and we're also getting increased winds in the upper canyons," while another official noted "increased fire activity."

The fire, which has prompted orders for some 4,200 people to flee their homes in Butte County, is burning through a largely rural, mountainous area about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of state capital Sacramento.

Firefighters are facing multiple challenges including rugged terrain, said operations section chief Mark Brunton.

"We're starting to see increased fire activity," he said.

Some 4,000 personnel are working on the fire, which has also drawn aircraft and bulldozers in the fight.

No deaths have been reported, though 67 structures have been either damaged or destroyed, See said.

The fire is split between Butte County, where 53,000 acres have burned, and neighboring Tehema County, where 304,000 acres have gone up in flames.

The blaze has generated an enormous column of dense gray smoke which has also been blown over nearby states.

On Thursday, police detained a 42-year-old man on suspicion of having started the fire by pushing a burning car into a ravine.

Chico is only about 15 miles from Paradise, a city devastated by a 2018 fire that ranked as California's most deadly ever, claiming 85 lives.

Experts say climate change, accelerated by human action, is leading to more extreme weather events.

In Oregon, the Durkee Fire, which was sparked by a lightning strike earlier this month, has consumed nearly 290,000 acres and was about 50 percent contained, the state's wildfire response and recovery agency said.

In western Canada, wildfires destroyed nearly a third of the beloved tourist town of Jasper before they were put under control on Sunday.

© 2024 AFP

Olympic camera operators urged to avoid ‘sexist’ filming of women athletes

Women participating in the Paris Games are “elite athletes” whom camera operators should be framing in the same way as men, Olympics broadcasting chief Yiannis Exarchos said on Sunday. Exarchos cited “unconscious bias” leading to more close-up shots of women Olympians at the Games.


Issued on: 28/07/2024 - 

Spain's Megan Gustafson and China's Li Yueru go for a rebound in basketball. 

The official Olympics broadcaster has urged camera operators to film men and women athletes in the same way to avoid "stereotypes and sexism" creeping into the coverage, its CEO said Sunday.

The Paris Olympics are the first in the 128-year history of the modern Games to reach gender parity among athletes, with women's sport also given more prime-time broadcast spots to help raise its profile.

With the Games now into full swing, the head of Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) said his organisation had updated its guidelines for camera operators, most of whom are men.

OBS is responsible for the TV coverage of the Olympics, with its images shared with rights holders around the world.

"Unfortunately, in some events they (women) are still being filmed in a way that you can identify that stereotypes and sexism remains, even from the way in which some camera operators are framing differently men and women athletes," chief executive Yiannis Exarchos told reporters in Paris.

"Women athletes are not there because they are more attractive or sexy or whatever. They are there because they are elite athletes."

He said the problem was mainly down to "unconscious bias", with camera operators and TV editors tending to show more close-up shots of women than men.

A number of scheduling changes have been made by Olympics organisers in Paris to boost women's sport. The women's marathon is set to be the final event of the Games instead of the men's race.

"The schedules of sporting events have traditionally been biased towards highlighting men's events," Exarchos said.

"Traditionally, in team sports, you have first women's finals, and then the men's final... In strength and combat sports, traditionally you have women's competitions in the morning and men's competitions in the afternoon."

Marie Sallois, director in charge of gender equality at the International Olympic Committee, said the Paris Games were "de facto the world's largest platform to promote gender equality in and through sport".


She pointed to "symbolic moments" in the opening ceremony on Friday which saw almost all delegations have a man and a woman flag carrier, while the artistic show paid tribute to influential women in French history.

When the ancient Greek Olympics concept was revived by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin in the late 19th century he saw it as a celebration of gentlemanly athleticism "with female applause as its reward".

In 1924, the last time the Olympics were held in Paris, just four percent of competitors were women and they were restricted to sports considered "suitable" for them, such as swimming, tennis and croquet.

(AFP)

France aims to halve Olympic Games carbon emissions

Issued on: 28/07/2024 - 

03:26
Video by :FRANCE 2

Paris Olympic officials had set an ambitious target of halving their overall carbon footprint compared with the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games. Efforts include using mostly facilities are existing or will be temporary, as well as offering locally sourced food to visitors and athletes.

Japan's Yoshizawa, 14, makes a big leap to land Olympic skateboard gold

Paris (AFP) – Japan's 14-year-old Coco Yoshizawa grabbed gold in the all-teenage women's street skateboard final at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, after nailing a high-risk ride down the hand-rail.

Issued on: 28/07/2024

Fourteen-year-old Coco Yoshizawa seized Olympic skateboarding gold near the 3,000-year-old Luxor Obelisk 

© Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

Yoshizawa went into her penultimate trick with two big scores but needing a third to complete her total, before finishing in style.

"I knew that if I wanted to win, I had to go for the most difficult tricks. I didn't aim for second or third place; I aimed for the top spot with my highest difficulty moves," she said.

Even though all her rivals had one more run, she raised her board above her head in celebration after the move.

"After making it I was not so much happy as relieved," she said.

"Completing the big spin flip felt fantastic because I hadn't managed it in practice, so to nail it here meant a lot."

Fellow Japanese Liz Akama took silver, with Brazilian Rayssa Leal collecting bronze at the Place de La Concorde.

After the deluge that forced the postponement of the men's event the previous day, skies cleared Sunday and the temporary arena became a humid cauldron.

The women's street final opened with the evening sun shining off the golden point of the ancient obelisk of Luxor at the centre of the Place de La Concorde and glinting off the glass dome of the Grand Palais.

Yoshizawa, who forms part of a younger generation of Japanese skaters, racked up 272.75 points from her three best runs.

Akama, aged 15, collected 265.95 for second and Leal finished on 253.37 -- comfortably ahead of fourth-placed Cui Chenxi of China.

Leal was the oldest of the three medallists in the French capital at 16.

Momiji Nishiya -- who took the first-ever gold in the event in Tokyo aged 13 -- this time failed to make the team.

'Ramen and Disneyland'

"I could perform with the Eiffel Tower as a background," said Yoshizawa. "But I was focused on skateboarding and didn't see anything until I was on the podium and then I could take in the scenery and say 'right, I'm in Paris'."

Rayssa Leal soaks up the applause of the Brazilian fans

 © Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

She said to celebrate her gold win she wanted to "have some ramen and visit Disneyland".

The crowd was dappled with yellow-shirted Brazilian fans, who rose from their seats waving flags and chanting when Leal wrapped up bronze.

"It felt like it was 100 percent Brazilians in the crowd," said Leal, who won silver aged 13 at the Covid-hit Tokyo Games.

"Now I know what the real Olympics are."

She said her next plans were to sightsee around the French capital with her skateboard.

"I will do some tricks on the Paris streets," she said.

Japan has won four of the six women's street medals since the event was first introduced in Tokyo.

"The reason we are very strong is that the Japanese people are diligent and work hard toward their dreams," said Akama.

The skateboarding resumes on Monday with the men's street event, which was postponed due to the driving rain on Saturday.

With defending Olympic champion Yuto Horigome, Sora Shirai and 14-year-old Ginwoo Onodera, Japan could again be set to dominate.

© 2024 AFP

Japan's Kano breaks French hearts in Olympic fencing final

Paris (AFP) – Fencer Koki Kano became Japan's first individual epee Olympic champion on Sunday, beating France's Yannick Borel 15-9 as American defending champion Lee Kiefer won the women's foil.

Issued on: 29/07/2024 -

Japan's Koki Kano celebrates winning gold in the men's individual epee 

© Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Kano, 26, added to his team gold from Tokyo but for a second successive night the French crowd had to make do with silver after Auriane Mallo-Breton was runner-up in the women's epee on Saturday.

The men's final proved to be one-sided despite the best efforts of the 9,000 spectators at the magnificent Grand Palais.

Cries of "Yannick Yannick" rang out as Borel, 35, appeared on the balcony overlooking the great hall with his opponent before descending the grand staircase.

Kano edged ahead but Borel kept in touch initially before his Japanese opponent opened up a 8-4 lead.

The crowd tried to lift the Frenchman, drumming their feet on the floor but Kano was in total charge at 12-6 and was rarely troubled as he wrapped up the win.

"I'm so happy to win gold in the individual event," said Kano. "Three years ago in Tokyo (2020 Games) I won gold, but it was the team event.

"I wanted to come here and get gold in the individual and I just did it."

Egypt's Mohamed Elsayed beat Hungary's Tibor Andrasfi to take bronze, celebrating by sprinting down the piste and brandishing the Egypt flag.

In the women's foil, American defending champion Lee Kiefer beat compatriot Lauren Scruggs 15-6.

Kiefer was rarely troubled by Scruggs in winning her second successive individual title.

"No matter how much I tried to prepare, there's still so much pressure I put on myself to just fence well and stay present," she said.

"Each day was a rollercoaster, but here we are at the top."

Canada's Eleanor Harvey beat Italian Alice Volpi in the bronze medal match

© 2024 AFP

Scandal-hit Canada keep Olympic football hopes alive with last-gasp win

Marseille (AFP) – Scandal-hit Canada kept alive their hopes of reaching the Olympic women's football quarter-finals with a last-gasp 2-1 win over France on Sunday as the United States joined Spain in the last eight.

Issued on: 29/07/2024 - 

Canada celebrate their victory against France in the Olympic women's football competition © Arnaud FINISTRE / AFP

Reigning champions Canada came into the match against the hosts with their hopes hanging by a thread after they were docked six points over a spying scandal.

A drone was used over a New Zealand training session ahead of Canada's first match, which they went on to win 2-1.

Coach Bev Priestman has been suspended for a year by FIFA.

France took the lead through Marie-Antoinette Katoto just before half-time only for Jessie Fleming to equalise after the break in Saint-Etienne.

Sophia Smith scores her second goal in a 3-1 win for the United States against Germany in Marseille in the women's Olympic football tournament 

© Pascal GUYOT / AFP

Canada were staring at the Olympic exit door until Vanessa Gilles struck in the 12th minute of injury time.

The result, coupled with Colombia's 2-0 win over New Zealand, means all four teams in Group A can still progress.

In Group B, Sophia Smith scored twice as the United States thumped Germany 4-1 to stay on track for a record-extending fifth gold medal.

Mallory Swanson and Lynn Williams were also on the scoresheet.

The opener came in the 10th minute on a sweltering evening in Marseille as Trinity Rodman played a one-two on the right before delivering a low cross that was turned in by Smith.

Giulia Gwinn's fine low strike brought Germany level midway through the first half, but the USA were quickly back in front as Swanson netted after a Smith shot was parried.

Smith got her second and the USA's third a minute before the interval with a shot from the edge of the box that took a deflection to loop up over the goalkeeper and in off a post.

Swanson set up substitute Williams to seal the win and the United States top the group with six points.

Australia win 11-goal thriller

In the same group Australia produced an incredible comeback to overturn a three-goal deficit and beat Zambia 6-5 in Nice.

Michelle Heyman fires in Australia's winner in an incredible game against Zambia

 © Valery HACHE / AFP

The Matildas were heading for a second straight loss when they trailed Zambia 5-2 early in the second half, but they came roaring back to win thanks to Michelle Heyman's 90th-minute strike.

Barbra Banda opened the scoring in the first minute for Zambia and went on to net a hat-trick, with Racheal Kundananji scoring twice.

When Kundananji headed in for 5-2 in the 56th minute, the match appeared to be over but defensive gifts by Zambia handed last year's World Cup semi-finalists a way back in.

Lushomo Mweemba played a clearance off goalkeeper Ngambo Musole and into the net for an own goal, and the goalkeeper then fumbled in Steph Catley's free-kick for 5-4.

Catley converted a penalty for 5-5 and Heyman ran through for the winner in the 90th minute.

Spain beat Nigeria 1-0 in Group C, with Alexia Putellas scoring a late free-kick, guaranteeing the world champions a quarter-final berth.

Earlier in the same group, Momoko Tanikawa scored a stunning 96th-minute winner as Japan came from behind to beat Brazil 2-1 in Paris.

Japan were staring at a second straight defeat after Jhennifer put Brazil ahead early in the second half.

But captain Saki Kumagai rolled in a 92nd-minute penalty before 19-year-old substitute Tanikawa's incredible first-time shot from distance.

© 2024 AFP

India sees large shift in life expectancy inequalities

By Dr. Tim Sandle

July 26, 2024

DIGITAL JOURNAL

Residents watch as supporters of India's opposition coalition stage a campaign rally in Tamil Nadu state's Madurai

 - Copyright AFP Idrees MOHAMMED

A new study finds that life expectancy in India was 2.6 years lower in 2020 than 2019, with women and marginalised social groups suffering the greatest declines.

The international study, co-authored by the Department of Sociology and the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science’sDr Aashish Gupta and Professor Ridhi Kashyap, finds that life expectancy in India suffered large and unequal declines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, mortality across India was 17 percent higher in 2020 compared to 2019, indicating 1.19 million excess deaths in India. This extrapolated estimate is about eight times higher than the official number of COVID-19 deaths in India, and 1.5 times higher than the World Health Organization’s estimates.

Professor Kashyap said, in relation to the report: “Our findings challenge the view that 2020 was not significant in terms of the mortality impacts and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. While a mortality surge caused by the Delta variant in 2021 received more attention, our study reveals significant and unequal mortality increases even earlier on in the pandemic.”

Using data from 765,180 individuals, the study estimated changes in life expectancy at birth, by sex and social group between 2019 and 2020 in India.

The study discovered large mortality impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 on younger age groups, women, and marginalised social groups. Generally, marginalised social groups within India experienced greater life expectancy declines than the most privileged social groups.

These marginalised groups already had lower life expectancy, and the pandemic appears to have further increased the gap between the most privileged Indian social groups, and the most marginalised social groups in India.

The study also indicated larger losses among females compared to males among almost all Indian social groups and classes. Women in India experienced life expectancy declines of 3.1 years – one year more than men who experienced life expectancy losses of 2.1 years.

This pattern relates to gender inequalities in healthcare and the allocation of resources within households. The findings also contrast with the pattern found in high-income countries where excess mortality was higher among men than women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While life expectancy declines in high-income countries were primarily driven by mortality increases in over 60s, mortality increased in almost all age groups in India and most prominently in the youngest and older age groups.

The research highlights the importance of focussing on inequality when measuring mortality and shows that pandemics can worsen, rather than equalise, existing disparities.

The research is titled ‘Large and unequal life expectancy declines during the COVID-19 pandemic in India in 2020, can it appears in the journal Science Advances.

Rival gangs sign truce in Haiti’s largest shantytown

By AFP
July 26, 2024

Kenyan police exit an armored vehicle during a deployment in Port-au-Princein mid-July, 2024 

- Copyright AFP/File Clarens SIFFROY

Two rival gang leaders signed a truce to end armed conflict in Haiti’s largest shantytown, a community leader said Thursday.

Haiti has long been rocked by gang violence, but conditions sharply worsened at the end of February when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince to overthrow then-prime minister Ariel Henry.

The gangs control 80 percent of the Caribbean country’s main roads and are accused of numerous murders, rapes, looting and kidnapping for ransom.

Under the agreement between leaders of the G9 and G-Pep groups, roadblocks in the Cite Soleil (Sun City) shantytown of around 300,000 inhabitants were taken down, said Pastor Jean Enock Joseph, an influential figure in the commune.

“A new stage has just been reached”, the pastor told AFP.

However, he added that a similar truce had been signed in July 2023 before falling apart a few weeks later.

Like much of Port-au-Prince, Cite Soleil residents were unable to move freely in the shantytown — divided into zones controlled by the rival gangs — for fear of being caught in crossfire.

The G9 and G-Pep gangs have not clashed since February, when they joined a coalition fomenting coordinated attacks to overthrow Henry, but they had maintained the divisions within Cite Soleil until Wednesday.

Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, head of the G9 and one of the coalition’s leaders, hailed the “courage” of Cite Soleil’s gang leaders on Thursday.

Violence in Port-au-Prince has skyrocketed in recent months, sparking a serious humanitarian crisis.

Nearly 600,000 people are displaced in Haiti, according to the UN, a 60 percent increase since March.

Since the departure of Ariel Henry, transitional authorities have been set up to put the country back on its feet, with the support of a UN-backed multinational mission led by Kenya.

The task will be immense in a country ravaged by violence and corruption, and which has been without a president since the assassination of Jovenel Moise in 2021.

Electric car woes force German supplier ZF to axe jobs

ByAFP
July 26, 2024

ZF said it is facing less demand for parts for conventional vehicles -- like this transmission -- while demand for electric vehicles has also been weak 

Copyright AFP Sam Yeh

Sebastien ASH

German car parts manufacturer ZF said Friday it would cut a fifth to a quarter of jobs in Germany as it struggled with the switch to electric vehicles and foreign competition.

“The number of employees in Germany is to be successively reduced by 11,000 to 14,000 from the current level of around 54,000 by 2028,” ZF said in a statement.

The decision to significantly reduce the size of its domestic workforce was needed to “respond to the changes in the mobility sector, particularly in the field of electromobility”, ZF said.

The move was “difficult but necessary”, ZF chief executive Holger Klein said in a statement.

“The seriousness of the situation calls for decisive action to be able to adapt the company to the tougher market and competitive environment,” Klein said.

Restructuring the auto supplier in Germany was needed to “strengthen our competitiveness and consolidate our position as one of the world’s leading suppliers”, Klein said.

Strong competition, cost pressures and weak demand for electric vehicles meant the restructuring would focus on ZF’s electric motors division, the group said.

The emerging market, in which Chinese manufacturers have taken the lead, was “highly competitive”, ZF said.

Building the motors for electric cars had “low margins” and the group was struggling to “cross-finance purely electric drives” from its efforts in conventional and hybrid vehicles, ZF said.

The switch to electric vehicles was eating away at demand for “transmissions for conventional and hybrid vehicles”, an area where German suppliers have traditionally excelled, it said.

At the same time, “the current glaring weakness in demand for purely electric vehicles” meant ZF had been left with overcapacity in areas backed with high investments.

Despite the difficulties, “the future belongs to electromobility”, CEO Klein said.

ZF would continue to “invest heavily in this area”, he promised, but would have to explore cooperation with other firms in the area to remain competitive.

– ‘Leaner’ –

As part of the restructuring, the Friedrichhafen-based supplier said it would “increase its investments” in the areas of in-car technology, vehicle chassis, industrial tech and aftermarket services.

ZF’s network in Germany would be made “leaner” after recent acquisitions had seen it gradually expand, the group said.

The ultimate extent of the job cuts would depend on “the further development of the markets”, ZF said.

EU plans to outlaw the sale of new fossil fuel-powered cars from 2035, means some jobs in the industry will inevitably become redundant.

Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers have grabbed the advantage in electric vehicles and are hauling in a growing share of the market.

The Chinese battery-maker CATL has grown in short order to become the world’s third largest auto supplier.

The double shock delivered by the end of combustion engines and rising Chinese competition has piled pressure on European suppliers.

Besides ZF, parts makers like Bosch, Continental and Webasto have been among the companies in the sector to have announced job cuts.