* Car-parts group eyes cost cuts equivalent to 4,500 jobs
* Schaeffler warns slump could continue until 2013
* IG Metall - no state aid for debt-laden group if layoffs

German car-parts group Schaeffler provoked an angry response from powerful trade union IG Metall on Wednesday when it announced that it may have to cut roughly 4,500 jobs as the global slump eats into sales.

Last year, the ball-bearings maker swooped to secure control of larger rival Continental (CONG.DE), but was caught off guard by the financial crisis which made it hard to cope with its heavy debts.

Many now see Schaeffler as a candidate for German state aid, something which politicians would be reluctant to give to a company cutting jobs shortly ahead of national elections.

Schaeffler said that it saw 2009 sales at 7.5 billion euros ($10.2 billion), sigificantly below last year's level, and did not expect markets to return to 2008 levels until as late as 2013.

Schaeffler is now trying to save 250 million euros in labour costs in Germany. And while it wants to avoid forced redundancies, Chief Executive Juergen Geissinger warned that this was equivalent to about 4,500 lost jobs.

Schaeffler's works council and trade union IG Metall responded angrily, saying that state help should only be given is the company ruled out forced layoffs.

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