The car supplier AE-Group in the Wartburg district is insolvent. Wages and salaries for around 600 employees are guaranteed until the end of October.
The automotive supplier AE-Group from Gerstungen in the Wartburg district is insolvent. As the board announced, self-administration insolvency proceedings were opened at the district court in Meiningen on Monday.
Self-administered bankruptcy
In the event of self-administration insolvency, the goal is to restructure and continue operating the company.
The current managing directors will remain in office, albeit under the supervision of a newly appointed administrator.
In traditional insolvency proceedings, control over company management is handed over to the insolvency administrator.
The AE Group is a manufacturer of aluminum die-cast parts, for example for gearboxes, cylinder heads and car bodies. The company employs a total of around 1,000 people at four locations, including around 600 in Gerstungen. There was a change of ownership in February of this year.
Companies and jobs should be preserved as much as possible
The goal now is to preserve the company and the jobs, said CEO Christian Kleinjung. The AE Group should be restructured under self-administration with the previous management. “We very much regret having to take this step,” said the management of the AE Group on Wednesday.
The restructuring expert and lawyer Martin Mucha provides support. According to information, wages and salaries are secured through the insolvency money until the end of October and business operations continue without restrictions.
According to the company, the company got into economic difficulties due, among other things, to the collapse in demand from automobile manufacturers. In addition, according to the Automotive Thuringia industry association, production at the AE Group is very energy-intensive, so the increased energy prices further aggravated the situation.
The future of the industry is uncertain
According to Rico Chmelik, managing director of the Automotive Thuringia industry association, whether the situation eases depends primarily on whether politicians create reliable framework conditions for the automotive industry. This includes how the discussion about the ban on internal combustion engines in the EU from 2035 ends. “The manufacturers currently don’t know what the right strategy is.” Chmelik fears that car production will be cut back next year – with negative effects on suppliers.
Thuringia’s high-revenue automotive industry has been shaken for some time by site closures or supplier bankruptcies. According to the industry association, there were eight cases in the first four months alone, affecting 2020 jobs.
