The child seat manufacturer Britax Römer wants to close its production in Leipheim in Swabia in 2026. As the company reported, more than 200 of the last 290 employees are affected at the company’s headquarters. With the Works council negotiated on a social plan for the 216 jobs that are noticeable.
The company plans to move the production of the car residues completely to Asia, where 30 percent of the goods have been manufactured so far. In Leipheim, various areas such as product development, marketing, sales and administrative areas should remain. The warehousing on the location is to be taken over by an external partner.
The company justified the step with a decline in sales in recent years and high costs through production in Germany. The reduced turnover is also due to a declining birth rate in the EU.
“Since the shrunken sales level of the past few years has not covered the high fixed costs, Britax Römer has been deficient since 2021.” Since then, the annual shortfall has been on a low double -digit million amount. “In its existing structure, the company is not competitive,” it said in the company announcement.
IG BCE sees a “quick shot” of the management
The industrial union mining, chemistry, energy criticized the plans as a “quick shot” and asked for the development of alternatives to relocation according to the Far East. “Especially employees are affected by the closure who are not easy on the current labor market,” said the union.
Many, mostly female employees, have long been loyal to the company. Several had remained, although a move from Ulm to Leipheim in the district of Günzburg in 2017 was associated with enormous additional loads and significantly longer working channels.
Britax Römer was created in the late 1970s by a merger by the traditional German manufacturer Römer and the British competitor Britax. Römer was founded in Ulm in 1871, Britax in England in 1938. Initially, both companies had built seat belts, later switched to child seats.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 250411-930-433800/1
