Haldex Set to Streamline Production in Europe

Source: Haldex

LANDSKRONA, Sweden – Haldex will streamline its operations in Europe through concentrating the production of EBS and air suspension products in Hungary. This entails closing down the factory in Heidelberg, Germany.

Haldex’s European region has not managed to increase profitability to a level that meets its expectations. The expected economic downturn and the cost level in Germany has resulted in the decision to move the production.

Through co-locating the production in Heidelberg with the production in Szentlörincskáta in Hungary, economies of scale can be reached whereas the production costs decrease.

In total, 100 people will be affected by the shutdown. Out of these, 17 employees will remain at Haldex since they possess regional and global positions located in Germany. The notices will be distributed throughout 2020.

Negotiations with the trade union association was initiated Oct. 22nd and are expected to be completed in 2019. The costs of the move are difficult to predict as the levels of compensation are part of the negotiations that have just been initiated.

When the negotiations are completed, Haldex will announce the estimated costs. The costs will affect the financial result as a non-recurring cost, most probably in the fourth quarter of 2019. The move is expected to be completed during the first half of 2020.

Earlier in October, Haldex announced a similar co-location, moving production from North America to Mexico. Haldex aims at reaching an operating margin of ten percent by 2022, excluding investments in new technology. With these changes in production structure, the savings are estimated to a total of 75 million SEK annually, after they have been fully implemented.

The Brake Report
The Brake Report

The BRAKE Report is an online media platform dedicated to the automotive and commercial vehicle brake segments. Our mission is to provide the global brake community with the latest news & headlines from around the industry.