The supplier from Lake Constance is facing major challenges and far-reaching cuts in its ongoing restructuring process, with up to 14,000 jobs set to be eliminated. In this very important phase for the company, the supervisory board, chaired by Rolf Breidenbach, has decided to change its leadership. ‘At its extraordinary meeting today, the Supervisory Board of ZF Friedrichshafen AG decided to terminate the existing contractual relationship with the current CEO, Dr Holger Klein, by mutual agreement. He will leave the Executive Board on 30 September 2025,’ the company announced. Negotiations between management and employees on cost-cutting measures and the inevitable job cuts will continue until that date.
At the same time, the Supervisory Board has also agreed on a ‘mutually agreed’ separation with Peter Laier, the board member responsible for commercial vehicles, industrial technology, materials management, production and the India region. Laier will also leave the supplier at the end of September. “Due to differing views on the future strategic direction of the company, the Supervisory Board and Prof. Dr. Laier have agreed that Laier will step down from his position as a member of the Board of Management in agreement with the Supervisory Board,” according to a statement from Friedrichshafen.
While Laier’s successor for his various departments has not yet been decided, Holger Klein has a direct successor internally. On 1 October, Matthias Miedreich, who has only been CEO of the Electrified Drive Technologies division since January, will take over. Contrary to what the name suggests, this division not only covers the future field of electric drives, but also the well-known core business of transmissions, which are also becoming increasingly electrified. In the current situation, the supervisory board clearly has more confidence in the former Umicore boss than in Holger Klein.
‘I would like to thank Holger Klein for his tireless commitment to ZF over more than ten years, but especially for the last three years as Chief Executive Officer. With his strategy, he laid the foundations for ZF’s turnaround and has already achieved important successes with the entire team. We must now build on what has been achieved and continue with the strategy we have embarked upon,’ says Chief Supervisor Rolf Breidenbach. “In Mathias Miedreich we’ve found an internal successor who not only has in-depth experience in the industry – including in a CEO position – but with a combination of decisiveness and communication skills, who has also significantly advanced the restructuring of Division E since joining the ZF Board of Management. We wish him every success in his new role.” Former Hella CEO Breidenbach himself has only been Chairman of the Supervisory Board at ZF since this year.
While Miedreich is still relatively new to the ZF world, which, combined with his previous successes in the powertrain division, is clearly seen as an advantage, Holger Klein had already been working for ZF for many years before he was appointed CEO. Klein had held various management positions at ZF since 2014 before his appointment on 1 January 2023.
In the announcement, Klein himself describes it as “the right time to hand over the chairmanship of the Board of Management.” “Together with the Executive Board team and all ZF employees, we’ve already made great progress in turning ZF around. Our ‘Strengthening our Strengths’ strategy is showing initial success, the performance programs are working, profitability and cash flow are rising again, and, together with the Supervisory Board, we’ve decided on important courses of action for restructuring and for the future,” says the outgoing CEO. “I’m deeply convinced that we are on the right track to making ZF successful again as well as securing jobs. Now it’s critical that we quickly make implementation decisions together with the employee representatives, because ZF can’t afford to waste any more time.”
The tension within the Executive Board itself is also evident in the wording of the farewell message to Commercial Vehicle Executive Board member Laier. Apparently, the differences in opinion about the future strategic direction of the company were so great and irreconcilable that it was agreed to end the collaboration. And yet it is stated: “The Supervisory Board and the shareholders of the company deeply regret his departure and express their appreciation for his outstanding collaboration.”
Several ZF divisions need new leadership
Matthias Miedreich, the new strong man in Friedrichshafen, is not mentioned in the announcement. A few days ago at the IAA, he still appeared as CEO of the powertrain division, while Holger Klein presented the company as CEO. There had been no indication of the impending change, such as a sudden absence. The Handelsblatt newspaper also refers to a “surprising timing.”
However, the current personnel decisions do not mean that the work for the supervisory board is done: a successor must be found for the new CEO Miedreich for the Electrified Drive Technologies division, and Laier also leaves a gap in the Commercial Vehicle Technology and Industrial Technology divisions. ZF intends to provide information about the succession “in a timely manner.”
zf.com, handelsblatt.com
This article was first published by Sebastian Schaal for Ev Authority’s German edition.
