The Friedrichshafen headquarters of ZF — a global leader in driveline and chassis technology — is continuing to develop into a knowledge and high-tech location, following an agreement between managers and Works Council Committees just over two years ago.

Dirk Hanenberg, the plant manager responsible for production (www.zf.com) , said: “We are on the right path, yet the automotive world continues to evolve quickly.

This means we have to keep a careful eye on efficiency and international competitiveness, so that Friedrichshafen remains a strong ZF location offering good jobs well into the future.”

In September 2016, ZF concluded a comprehensive agreement with employee representatives on securing Friedrichshafen as an ‘active facility’.

Among other factors, the agreement stipulated that 600 million euros be invested in the company headquarters, along with further development of its production and R&D facilities by the end of 2022.

“This agreement should keep the number of employees at the location as stable as possible. It also provides for job security assurances, stipulating that the total number of employees at the location shall not go below the lower threshold limit of 8,500 — even after the announced partial withdrawal of a major customer for commercial-vehicle transmissions — but ideally shall remain around 9,000.”

Achim Dietrich, chairman of the Works Council Committee for Production, said: “It was important to us that Friedrichshafen remains a strong production location in the ZF Group.

“This agreement allows us to establish new products here and to offset the jobs lost by the partial withdrawal of an important customer with new jobs in Friedrichshafen.

"The professional skills required will change, as the automotive world moves towards electromobility, and with the increasing use of Industry 4.0 applications.

“That is why ZF is intent on improving the skills of its employees to prepare them for these new technologies.”

About one third of the agreed 600 million euro investment promised for the location has already been spent.

Investment projects include the construction of the “model factory for automated logistics processes”, the TraXon hybrid assembly facility, Industry 4.0 applications and development of the supplier network.

The construction of the production hall for the Powerline transmission for use in light commercial vehicles and the industrialisation of the electric commercial-vehicle central drive CeTrax will be focal points for investment in the next few years.