— By Plasteurope.com staff — 

The cost-saving measures initiated in spring 2023 at specialist for sunroofs and parking heaters Webasto (Stockdorf, Germany; www.webasto.com) are proving to be insufficient. The automotive supplier has now announced that it intends to forge ahead with its financial and operational restructuring more quickly and on a larger scale in view of the “further deterioration in general conditions and the ongoing crisis in the automotive industry”.

Johann Stohner, who has been appointed to the executive board in a temporary capacity as chief restructuring officer (CRO), is supposed to help make this happen. In his main job, Stohner is managing director of the consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal.

The aim is to reduce production and development capacities after the situation “deteriorated significantly in the second half of 2024”, according to CEO Holger Engelmann. The product range is also supposed to be thinned out. The executive board intends to present a roadmap for this by the beginning of the second quarter. 

Related: Umbrella group tells EU lawmakers to ‘stick with End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation plan’

It is likely that this will involve job cuts in the form of redundancies, after Webasto had limited itself to natural fluctuation last year. This, however, only slightly reduced the number of employees to 16,600. When asked by Plasteurope.com, the company neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of job cuts. A spokesperson also explained that increased costs had been partially offset by renegotiations with customers and suppliers as well as efficiency improvements that had been achieved at the plants. Most recently, shortly before Christmas, Webasto organised new financing in cooperation with its principal banks.   

In 2023, the company generated sales of EUR 4.6 bn. Even then, however, the resulting EBIT of around EUR 20 mn was described as “significantly below expectations”. All in all, this points to a loss for the family-owned business. Figures for 2024 are not yet available, but they are unlikely to improve and are more likely to worsen.  

Webasto processes more than 20,000 t of thermoplastics and polyurethane per year, primarily for technical parts, adhesives, and seals. In the meantime, however, the company has apparently withdrawn from the polycarbonate glazing business for panoramic and sliding roofs. This is indicated by the latest statement from a spokesperson, according to which Webasto is ready with its many years of experience should customers show interest again. Webasto invested heavily in this technology in 2013.

— Translated by Elspeth Lenhard