HANNOVER (dpa-AFX) - Continental Supervisory Board member Wolfgang Reitzle is calling on the Executive Board to step up the pace of the ongoing reorganization of the weakening automotive supplier division. "Automotive must step up the pace on the path it has embarked on, especially in terms of implementation strength," he said on Friday at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting in Hanover. "We on the Supervisory Board hope to see rapid progress here."

Reitzle, who turned 75 in March, wants to be re-elected to the Supervisory Board for a further two years at the shareholders' meeting. In view of the ongoing restructuring of the Group, the time is not yet right for him to step down, he said. "The goal is clear. The company must realign itself," explained Reitzle. "And I personally also want to support the Executive Board in the short-term implementation."

Employees protest against site closure

Employees from Wetzlar in Hesse used the shareholders' meeting to protest against the planned closure of their site. "Wetzlar must be preserved!" was written on a large banner that greeted the shareholders at the entrance. IG Metall spoke of 150 participants. Conti announced at the end of March that it would close the site at the end of 2025. Conti intends to offer some of the 460 employees jobs at other locations in Hesse, with 160 jobs to be cut.

Last year, the DAX-listed company launched a cost-cutting program worth millions for the weakening automotive supplier division. Worldwide, 7150 jobs are to be cut. Conti wants to close entire research and development sites and merge them with others. In addition to Wetzlar, the Schwalbach site is also to be closed./fjo/DP/stk