The news comes in the wake of widespread plant shutdowns by major European carmakers in recent days, and after top rival Schaeffler earlier on Thursday said it would cut production in its automotive business.

"As a result of this significant level of uncertainty, SKF is taking major steps to reduce the impact of the situation on its operations, including closure of sites, reducing costs, number of employees and increasing flexibility within the workforce," SKF said in a statement.

An SKF spokesman told Reuters the plants would be closed for 7-10 days to begin with, and related to its big automotive sites in Italy, Spain and France.