ZF has decided not to outsource development and production of electric motors and inverters, even as it prepares further cuts in its struggling electrified powertrain business.
The German supplier made the decision after a special “make or buy” review inside its Electrified Powertrain Technologies division. ZF had been weighing whether it still made business sense to build electric motors and inverters itself, or whether those parts should be bought from outside suppliers.
ZF is choosing to keep the work inside the group. The company said electric motors and inverters are strategic technologies for electric mobility, and that retaining them would protect know-how, reduce supplier dependence and improve long-term competitiveness.
ZF said its passenger-car drive business had fallen into loss because EV demand has been slower than expected. The company still expects significant cuts as it tries to bring the division back to sustainable footing.
Reuters reported that hundreds more jobs would be cut at ZF sites in Schweinfurt and Auerbach, where the group has e-mobility operations. ZF said it would try to avoid forced redundancies where possible.
ZF CEO Mathias Miedreich said the decision was made with employee representatives and gave the division a clear direction. But he also said the business needed better cost structures to compete.
ZF is keeping the technology, but not the old cost base. E-motors and inverters remain too important to hand over to suppliers.
At the same time, Europe’s EV slowdown means keeping the technology in-house does not protect every job attached to it.
