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According to foreign media reports, the auto parts giant Continental Group said it was considering whether to close its factories in Germany and restructure its business. Following media reports that nine factories in the company's powertrain division may be closed, Continental said it was reviewing all departments, but did not disclose details of the factories and layoffs involved.

Continental plans to close nine of the 32 production bases in its powertrain division, which could lead to the loss of 4000 jobs, according to people familiar with the matter.

Earlier this month, Continental said it was seeking further cost cuts. Continental Group recently announced that its tire business income from January to June was $6.41 billion, up 4.9 per cent from a year earlier, and pre-tax profit was $1.35 billion, up 1.4 per cent from a year earlier. Continental announced that it had adjusted its annual target for fiscal 2019 and expected sales to fall by about 5 per cent for the whole year.

Continental Group said sales revenue increased in the first half of the year due to multiple factors such as currency exchange rates. However, Wolfgang Schaefer, chief financial officer of Continental Group, said that the current weakness in the global car market has had a big impact on Continental Group. The company predicts that the overall situation of the global economy will not improve significantly in the second half of the year. Earlier, affected by the continued decline in global production of passenger cars and pick-up trucks, Continental announced that it had adjusted its annual target for fiscal 2019 and expected full-year sales to fall by about 5 per cent, with an EBIT margin of about 7 per cent and 7.5 per cent.

Continental ranks fourth on the list of the world's top 100 auto parts suppliers published by European Automotive News, with global car sales expected to be $37.8 billion in fiscal 2018.

With the downturn in global car sales and the huge costs of the transformation, life has not been easy for auto parts manufacturers. In early August, Bosch said it would start layoffs and said it might sell some of its fuel engine parts business. The company expects car production to fall by 5% this year, as demand for diesel vehicles from the world's biggest automakers continues to decline.

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