ZF Job Cuts in Koblenz 2025: Severance and Termination Agreements - Your Rights and Claims

On September 18, 2025, the automotive supplier ZF announced specific plans for a major job reduction at the Koblenz location. By 2030, around 450 of the current approx. 2,100 jobs are to be eliminated – of which 370 are in research and development and 80 in administration. As a major employer in the region, this decision hits many families in Koblenz and the surrounding area hard.

But there is also good news for affected employees: With our special offer "Severance Automotive Industry: Review Termination Agreement", you can significantly strengthen your negotiating position and enforce a fair severance payment.

Koblenz in Focus: Local Particularities in the ZF Job Cuts

Unlike other ZF locations, there is a special legal situation in Koblenz: A German works agreement (Betriebsvereinbarung) excludes operational redundancies until the end of 2026. This local regulation gives the 2,100 employees on the Rhine an important advantage over colleagues at other locations of the group.

The Koblenz location focuses primarily on Integrated Brake Control systems (IBC) and wheel brake systems – areas that will remain relevant in the future. Nevertheless, development engineers and administrative employees in particular must fear for their jobs. Production, with 500 employees, on the other hand, remains largely untouched.

For the affected employees in Koblenz, this means: ZF is dependent on voluntary termination agreements until the end of 2026. This strengthens the negotiating position significantly – if you know how to use it.

Why ZF Koblenz Employees Have Better Cards

The current situation in Koblenz differs fundamentally from typical waves of dismissals in industry. ZF employees have the following advantages:

• Forced Cooperative Negotiation: ZF must negotiate cooperatively at the Koblenz location, as operational redundancies are excluded until the end of 2026
• Economic Pressure on the Group: With a loss of 195 million euros in the first half of 2025, ZF cannot afford lengthy legal disputes
• Special Technical Know-how: R&D employees have valuable specialist knowledge that makes them interesting to competing companies

Realistic Severance Expectations for ZF Koblenz

Based on current cases in the automotive supplier industry, ZF employees in Koblenz can expect severance payments of between 0.7 and 1.2 monthly salaries per year of employment – often even more with clever negotiation. The works agreement and the company's time pressure play into the hands of the employees.

For a development engineer with 15 years of service and a gross monthly salary of 5,000 euros, this means a severance range of 52,500 to 90,000 euros. The difference between a poorly and a well-negotiated severance can therefore amount to tens of thousands of euros.

Crucial in this regard is not only the basic severance payment but also additional components that are quite common at ZF:

• Pro-rata Christmas bonus
• Compensation for untaken leave
• Bonus regulations and special payments
• Extra-tariff allowances

The Three Critical Negotiation Mistakes at ZF Koblenz

1. Accepting Time Pressure and Signing Prematurely

ZF will try to put employees under time pressure to achieve results quickly. Do not let yourself be rushed – the works agreement runs until the end of 2026, so you have time for thorough examination and negotiation.

2. Viewing the First Offer as Final

Experience shows that initial severance offers from ZF will be at the lower end of the possible range. Especially in the current situation of the company, significantly more is negotiable than is initially offered.

3. Negotiating Without Local Legal Advice

The special features of the Koblenz location – from the works agreement to local collective bargaining provisions – are known only to lawyers with corresponding regional experience. This can make the difference between an average and an optimal severance payment.

Termination Agreement vs. Dismissal: The Koblenz Perspective

For ZF employees in Koblenz, this question presents itself differently than elsewhere. Since operational redundancies are excluded until the end of 2026, the only way out of the company is via a termination agreement (Aufhebungsvertrag). This shifts the power balance significantly in favor of the employees.

A well-negotiated termination agreement in Koblenz should include the following components:

• Adequate severance payment
• Paid leave (release) until the end of the contract
• Qualified job reference
• Avoidance of blocking periods for unemployment benefits

Avoiding the blocking period is particularly important: through clever contract design, it can be documented that ZF initiated the termination of the employment relationship – even if a termination agreement is formally concluded.

Tax Optimization for ZF Severance Payments

A special feature for higher-earning ZF employees in Koblenz: through the "one-fifth rule" (Fünftelregelung), significant tax advantages can be achieved for larger severance payments. The correct timing of the payout is decisive.

Anyone who receives their severance payment in January 2026, for example, and then becomes unemployed or takes up a lower-paid activity, can significantly reduce the tax burden. With a severance payment of 80,000 euros, several thousand euros can be saved in this way.

Local Expertise Makes the Difference

Negotiating a severance at ZF Koblenz requires special knowledge of the local conditions. This includes not only the special works agreements but also knowledge of the local labor market and regional case law.

A specialist lawyer for labor law located in Koblenz also knows the acting persons at ZF and can realistically assess the company's willingness to negotiate. This local proximity can be a significant advantage in negotiations.

Collect Important Documents for ZF Employees

Before you enter into severance negotiations, you should compile these documents:

• Your ZF employment contract with all supplements and changes
• Salary statements for the last 12 months (including special payments)
• The current German works agreement on protection against dismissal until 2026
• All additional agreements, bonus regulations, and special payments of recent years
• Documentation of training, certificates, and special qualifications

These documents enable your lawyer to assess your individual negotiating position and develop a realistic severance strategy.

What ZF Employees Should Specifically Do Now

The coming weeks and months will be decisive for the future of many ZF employees in Koblenz. The company is expected to approach affected employees with concrete offers later this year.

Those among the 370 employees in research and development or the 80 employees in administration should inform themselves early about their rights and options. The better prepared you are, the more successfully you can negotiate.

Particularly important: Do not sign any termination agreement without prior legal review. Our special offer "Severance Automotive Industry: Review Termination Agreement" is specifically tailored to situations like that at ZF Koblenz.

Benefit Now from the Special Offer for the Automotive Industry

The special situation at ZF Koblenz makes a professional review of the termination agreement particularly valuable. Right now, ZF employees can benefit from our specialized contract review.

The coming months offer ZF employees in Koblenz a unique opportunity: the company is dependent on cooperation due to the works agreement, and your own negotiating position is stronger than seldom before.

➤ Have your termination agreement professionally reviewed now for only €399