<p>German auto-parts maker Continental said Tuesday that it would expand its vast restructuring programme to affect 30,000 jobs, as the coronavirus pandemic ravages global vehicle production.</p>.<p>Continental aims to save more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) annually from 2023, doubling a previously announced savings target, it said in a statement.</p>.<p>More than 30,000 jobs worldwide -- around 13 per cent of its workforce -- will be "modified, relocated or made redundant," the company said, with about 13,000 of those in Germany.</p>.<p>The Hanover-based company blamed "persistently low global vehicle production as well as the deepening economic crisis as a result of the coronavirus pandemic."</p>.<p>Continental does not expect vehicle production to return to the pre-crisis levels of 2017 before 2025.</p>.<p>In August, it said net profit plunged 41 per cent to 485 million euros in the second quarter.</p>.<p>"The entire automotive industry is currently faced with enormous challenges. It has not experienced a larger, more severe crisis in the past 70 years," Continental chief executive Elmar Degenhart said.</p>.<p>The company had originally announced measures in September 2019 that would have affected up to 20,000 jobs worldwide, including some 7,000 in Germany.</p>.<p>But Continental said the numbers don't take into account any jobs created by new ventures in digital technology, automated driving or from electric cars.</p>.<p>Continental trailed Germany's blue-chip DAX index Tuesday, shedding 2.4 per cent versus a rise of 0.1 per cent for the DAX as a whole</p>
<p>German auto-parts maker Continental said Tuesday that it would expand its vast restructuring programme to affect 30,000 jobs, as the coronavirus pandemic ravages global vehicle production.</p>.<p>Continental aims to save more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) annually from 2023, doubling a previously announced savings target, it said in a statement.</p>.<p>More than 30,000 jobs worldwide -- around 13 per cent of its workforce -- will be "modified, relocated or made redundant," the company said, with about 13,000 of those in Germany.</p>.<p>The Hanover-based company blamed "persistently low global vehicle production as well as the deepening economic crisis as a result of the coronavirus pandemic."</p>.<p>Continental does not expect vehicle production to return to the pre-crisis levels of 2017 before 2025.</p>.<p>In August, it said net profit plunged 41 per cent to 485 million euros in the second quarter.</p>.<p>"The entire automotive industry is currently faced with enormous challenges. It has not experienced a larger, more severe crisis in the past 70 years," Continental chief executive Elmar Degenhart said.</p>.<p>The company had originally announced measures in September 2019 that would have affected up to 20,000 jobs worldwide, including some 7,000 in Germany.</p>.<p>But Continental said the numbers don't take into account any jobs created by new ventures in digital technology, automated driving or from electric cars.</p>.<p>Continental trailed Germany's blue-chip DAX index Tuesday, shedding 2.4 per cent versus a rise of 0.1 per cent for the DAX as a whole</p>