Continental, which had some 20,000 employees in Romania at the end of 2019, forwent its initial forecasts for 2020, saying its business faces “significant changes and perturbations” and that nearly 40% of the 250 production facilities were temporarily closed.
“In periods of crisis, financial liquidity is of top priority. To this end, we are cutting our costs, optimizing our working capital and postponing projects and investments that are not urgently required until further notice. We are, however, continuing to push ahead at full steam with key development projects as well as preparations for upcoming production start-ups. In this way, we are maintaining our ability to function effectively and confidently,” said Continental CEO Elmar Degenhart.
At present, more than 40 percent of Continental’s 249 production locations worldwide have temporarily ceased activities for a few days to several weeks in order to protect employees and in response to the drop in demand.
The consequences are reflected in reduced working hours. In Germany alone, about 30,000 employees and thus half of the current workforce have been registered for short-time work as at April 1, 2020. This affects all corporate functions – from production and research and development through to administration, including employees at Continental’s headquarters in Hanover. Certain business units already started reducing working hours in mid-March 2020, as per the statement.