Nikolai Setzer becomes the new CEO of Continental. This was announced by the Dax group from Hanover on Thursday after a decision by the supervisory board. The 49 year-old manager and previous head of the automotive supplier core division at Conti succeeds Elmar Degenhart, who at the end of October requested an early termination of his

Setzer is a native of the company, he is internally well-connected. The industrial engineer had already been traded as a promising candidate. Now he is to take over the management of the world’s second largest supplier after Bosch on December 1. According to Continental information, he was appointed until March 2024.

Setzer collected after positions in development initially management experience in the core business with tires. 2009 he became board member for car tires, later for the entire area. From May 2015 to March 2019 he was responsible for the Group’s procurement, after which he took over Setter controls the automotive business.

30. 000 Positions affected by realignment Degenhart, whose contract actually runs until August 2024 had given health reasons for his early withdrawal. Most recently, the works council, the trade unions and politicians in particular had criticized the Conti leadership. In addition to the difficult restructuring of the group from a mechanical and hydraulic company to an electronics and software company, there was a slump in sales during the corona crisis. On the other hand, the owners allegedly called for an even more resolute austerity policy. “30. 000 Positions are relocated, deleted or converted for new qualifications – including 13. 000 in Germany. From the point of view of the executive floor, this will not work without plant closings.

“No experiments” New jobs are being created in promising areas at the same time. However, cuts caused deep uncertainty among the workforce, which, of all things, were decided for the overall profitable tire division: The end of production at the Aachen plant with 1800 employees only came through the supervisory board because the capital side overruled the employee side. Other locations are also to be downsized, converted or closed completely.

Works Council Chairman Hasan Allak also attacked the Board of Management because of a lack of agreements. After the announcement of Degenhart’s withdrawal, he said that “no experiments” at Continental were desirable in the current situation. Setzer is described as assertive, but also as communicative. Supervisory board chairman Wolfgang Reitzle had spoken out in favor of continuity in management.

(fpi)