Breyden will close its Ueckermünde brake-casting foundry at the end of the year

Breyden, a German car-parts supplier, plans to close its iron foundry in Ueckermünde, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, at the end of 2026. The company told staff at a meeting on Friday afternoon, 2 October.

The foundry makes brake callipers and brake housings for the car industry. Managing director Sebastian Simon told the Nordkurier that about 320 people will lose their jobs: 260 permanent staff, plus people on fixed-term contracts and agency workers. NDR and Tagesschau report 290, without giving a breakdown.

Breyden gave falling demand from carmakers and too little work at the plant as the reasons. Simon told the Nordkurier that the foundry handled 50,000 tonnes of iron a year a few years ago and now handles 35,000. He said labour and energy cost too much, and the company said the plant already depends on financial support from the rest of the group. Breyden bought it last year from MAT Foundries Europe.

Breyden said production and deliveries will carry on until the closure, and that customers and suppliers will be given named contacts. Its other foundries are not affected. The Silbitz Group, which runs a foundry 15 km away in Torgelow, said it is hiring and will try to take on Ueckermünde staff.

The works council, working with IG Metall, has brought in an expert adviser, an auditor and a lawyer. About 300 people held a vigil outside the gates on Saturday.

Photo: Peter Seifert, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

Sources: Nordkurier, 3 October 2026; dpa via Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2 October 2026; NDR, 2 October 2026; Tagesschau, 3 October 2026.