Troubled automotive supplier Webasto appoints restructuring boss

Webasto, a major automotive supplier from Germany specializing in roofs, batteries, heating, and cooling systems, has appointed Johann Stohner as its Chief Restructuring Officer to secure the company’s future amid worsening economic conditions and a growing debt pile. This move is a direct result of the ongoing crisis in the European automotive industry.

With slowing EV sales growth after massive investments from most large automotive manufacturers, the European car industry faces troubling times. Audi has abandoned its Brussels plant, and Volkswagen threatened to close up to three German factories but reached a deal with unions in December 2024. And with fewer cars produced on European soil, automotive suppliers also suffer.

Even worse economic conditions than expected

Suppliers like Webasto, a German company specializing in automotive roofs (panoramic glass, sun, and convertible roofs), battery and charging solutions, and heating and cooling systems (like parking heaters for EVs, campers, and temperature-controlled road transport).

Webasto has over 50 locations worldwide and is a top 100 automotive supplier. It started a streamlining process in early 2024, but conditions worsened even further, and it is now facing over 1.2 billion euros in debt.

To accelerate the restructuring process, the company has appointed Johann Stohner from the consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal as its Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO) from January 15th. He will work with the owner families and lending banks to create a restructuring plan that will please the creditors and secure the company’s future.

‘Streamlining and sharpening’

“We were on the right track with the optimization program we launched at the beginning of 2024. However, the general conditions in the automotive industry continued to deteriorate significantly for us in the second half of the year,” says Dr. Holger Engelmann, Chairman of the Management Board of Webasto.

“We must continue to consistently adapt our production and development capacities to the changed situation, streamline our organization as a whole, and further sharpen our product range.”

The first results of this appointment are expected by the beginning of the second quarter of 2025 (around April) when the extended Management Board will develop additional restructuring measures in cooperation with the Supervisory Board and the Works Council. Expect a significant loss of jobs and a smaller product offering to cut costs.