Data collected by the European industry organization Clepa and made available to the Financial Times show that parts suppliers have announced a reduction of 50,000 in 2025. jobs, 54 thousand each in 2024, which is a sign of continuing problems in this sector.
— This is quite an unprecedented situation – over 100,000. jobs announced for elimination in the last two years… we have not been able to stop the bleeding, said Benjamin Krieger, Clepa's secretary general, in an interview with the newspaper.
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“The dragon in the room is China”
The industry also faces strong competition from Chinese companies, which are increasing their share of car sales on the European market. —The dragon in the room is China. “They have technically well-made vehicles coming to market at an extremely low price,” Krieger added.
As “FT” notes, Bosch, the world's largest supplier of car parts, announced in September that it would eliminate 13,000 jobs by 2030. jobs after reporting an annual cost gap of €2.5 billion, .
Arnd Franz, CEO of Stuttgart-based Mahle, told the FT that it was “difficult to say” whether the sector has already hit rock bottom or will continue to struggle in 2026. The company announced in November actions to cut 1,000 jobs, mainly in Europe and North America. President Donald Trump's broad tariffs have resulted in slower-than-expected demand for auto parts, according to Franz.
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Plays by different rules
While interest in electric vehicles in Europe is lower than expected, the shift away from petrol and diesel cars continues to increase pressure on European suppliers that have been focusing on producing combustion engines.
The European Commission is considering proposals to protect the sector by introducing “made in Europe” safeguards for key industries, which would ensure that a certain threshold of parts are produced on the continent.
Krieger emphasized that European companies would be able to compete with their Chinese counterparts if they all produced within the EU. – We are sure that the Chinese and Europeans would be competitive under the same framework conditions if the same rule book applied to all, he added.
