Failed Liquid-Crystal Technology Forces Magna to Close Bavarian Plant, 216 Jobs Cut
Published on 07/14/2026 at 23:25 | Editorial boerse-global.de
The writing was on the wall for months, but the final blow came from a liquid-crystal mirror glass project that never reached market. Magna, the international automotive supplier, confirmed it will shut its Dorfprozelten plant in Lower Franconia by mid-2027 – two years earlier than previously agreed. All 216 remaining employees will lose their jobs.
The factory, which specialized in exterior and rearview mirrors, had pinned its future on a new LC-spiegelglas technology backed by the Bavarian state government. The idea was to bring the liquid-crystal-based innovation into series production, giving the site a competitive edge. But the development stalled. It never became market-ready, and Magna has now pulled the plug entirely. Without that technology, the IG Metall union argues, there was no economic case to keep the plant running beyond 2027.
A broken promise from 2023
Union officials are furious. In 2023, management and worker representatives signed a framework agreement to secure the site until at least the end of 2028. That deal guaranteed a minimum of 250 jobs – at a time when Dorfprozelten still employed around 450 people. The plant has since lost more than half its workforce through attrition and early departures.
The IG Metall accuses leadership of failing to uphold its side of the bargain. "The promised measures were never implemented consistently," a union spokesperson said. "Neither new product lines nor production shifts were brought in to keep the plant busy." The early closure, they argue, amounts to a breach of trust.
Spiralling decline in automotive supply chains
Management blames a sustained downturn in business and market conditions. Despite repeated investment and cost-cutting efforts, the economic situation at Dorfprozelten never stabilised, according to the company. The plant is the latest casualty in a German automotive industry that is shedding jobs at an accelerating rate.
In the third quarter of 2025 alone, sector-wide employment dropped by 6.3 percent. Surveys now show that about 54 percent of supplier companies are planning headcount reductions. Even large manufacturers like Volkswagen are reportedly considering up to 100,000 job cuts by 2030. For smaller suppliers, the combination of electrification pressure and volatile demand is proving lethal, triggering wave after wave of capacity adjustments and site closures.
Magna stressed that other locations, including Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria, are not affected by the Dorfprozelten shutdown.
