ZF Friedrichshafen labor meeting interrupted amid pay dispute

A labor meeting for over 4,500 employees at auto supplier ZF in Friedrichshafen was interrupted on Tuesday amid a heated conflict over the termination of above-tariff benefits. The works council announced that the meeting had to be paused because a contentious issue dominated the agenda, preventing other planned topics from being addressed.

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To local cost structures at the Friedrichshafen site, we cannot comment for competitive reasons.

Negotiations between the works council and ZF management regarding the company's decision to end above-tariff payments at the Friedrichshafen site had been ongoing for weeks. However, these talks collapsed on Monday evening when the employer broke them off. The works council described the employer's move as another cut to employee wages.

A ZF spokesperson stated that the company could not comment on local cost structures for competitive reasons. "Given the challenging situation in our industry, it is obvious that we must improve the competitiveness of the site to create future prospects," the spokesperson said. The company added that initial discussions with the local works council on Monday had led to a substantive dialogue, but details would only be shared once results were available.

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Given the challenging situation in our industry, it is obvious that we must improve the competitiveness of the site to create future prospects.

ZF has faced financial difficulties, reporting a loss of 2.1 billion euros last year, more than double the previous year's figure, partly due to a special effect from corporate restructuring. The company plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs in Germany by the end of 2025. As of the end of 2025, ZF employed over 153,000 people globally, with more than 49,000 in Germany.

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The talks with the site's works council, initiated by the company, led to a substantive dialogue for the first time on Monday. We will only discuss details publicly once results are available.