Streamlining and saving costs are usually core goals when companies are rearranging themselves internally. This also applies to Conti’s latest plans. One area in particular should play a prominent role.
With a corporate restructuring, Continental wants to streamline its structure and also strengthen the central future topic of its own software development.
The auto supplier presented the plans after a board meeting. From January 2022, all activities are to be integrated into just three corporate divisions: Automotive, Tires and the industrial business Contitech. A sub-unit for “Software and Systems Excellence” will be located in the first division. From the turn of the year it will be a separate part alongside five other business areas.
In addition, the Hanover-based company is turning the previously combined business fields tires (Tires) and industry (Contitech) into two independent corporate divisions. The tire division was recently one of the most profitable in the Dax group, but a number of jobs are also being cut here. New jobs are created primarily in software, sensors and electronics. A total of up to 30,000 jobs worldwide will be put to the test at Conti over the next few years.
Five instead of seven units
In the new form of the core automotive supplier area, there are now five subordinate business areas in addition to the software and system specialists. These are network technology and high-performance computers, display and control elements, mobility services, autonomous driving and safety technologies. In the previous structure, everything was distributed over seven units and tailored differently – IT only appeared as one of many overarching “central functions”.
The entire new business area is to be headed by CEO Nikolai Setzer. The managers Helmut Matschi – responsible for vehicle networking – and Frank Jourdan – autonomous driving / safety technology – are leaving the company prematurely as a result of the structural changes. The current seven-strong Conti executive board will thus be reduced to five managers.
The new software and system unit is also responsible for the central development of the vehicle networking and information business area. IT and technology manager Gilles Mabire will be in charge of it.
Chairman of the Supervisory Board Wolfgang Reitzle justified the restructuring with a more direct focus on the most important industry topics: “The strategic realignment will be accelerated and Continental will be positioned in an agile, market-oriented and future-oriented manner with a view to the transformation of the mobility industry.” Setzer was also quoted in the communication: “We are bundling our competencies, especially in the area of software.” In addition, the complexity is decreasing.
The Continental Works Council sees the new structure as confirmation of some of its own demands. “It is right and consistent to dissolve principalities and thus basically let the structure follow the strategy,” said the head of the employee representatives, Hasan Allak. It is a shame, however, that “the company has lost very good specialists and executives, also because of the delayed decision on personnel consequences at management level”. There had been fierce disputes in the group as well as with unions and state governments about cuts in the tire division, but also in other areas.
The works council warned that the new structure should not be used as a pretext to push through further staff cuts: “Many colleagues in research and development are overloaded with customer projects.” And the recently completed spin-off of the drive technology division into the Vitesco company was associated with less administrative work. “The new structures must be used to better deploy resources and to relieve colleagues.”
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
