The German car parts giant Continental announced a broad restructuring plan to be carried out over the next ten years that will result in the slashing of as many as 20,000 jobs. The plans include the closure of two plants in the United States where 1,400 jobs will be lost in the effort to reduce gross costs by $547m by 2023. The company cited slowing automobile production in its key markets and a need to improve protifability. It’s not clear where else Continental, which employs around 240,000 people worldwide, is planning to fire people. Asked by the Czech News Agency whether Continental would be laying off any Czech employees, head of media relations Vincent Charles said no decision had yet been made. Germany’s car industry has been hit by global uncertainty over the growing trade warn and by a slowing European economy.
