Siemens to cut 2,000 jobs, sell businesses
BERLIN (AP) – The industrial services division of German electronics and engineering group Siemens AG said Wednesday it plans to eliminate 2,000 jobs, or 6.7 percent of its work force, and sell businesses employing thousands more to cut costs and curb losses. Most of the job cuts would be within Germany. The division said marginal activities – including businesses making circuit boards and operating repair shops – would be “acquired and maintained by partners,” a move affecting 5,000 employees – 1,300 of them outside Germany.
The division employs 30,000 people worldwide to supply and maintain industrial equipment and help manufacturers improve plants with new technology, but has lost business to smaller rivals providing routine servicing for industrial plants.
It says it lost money in the first half of its fiscal year ended in March though it didn’t provide earnings details.
The division said the shake-up and a drive to improve productivity could save more than $460 million annually.
“Our goal is to rapidly focus (the division) on its core competencies and reduce low-profit commitments,” division head Joergen Ole Haslestad said in a statement.
“Increasing earnings has a clear priority over sales growth.”
The job cuts are the latest by the Munich-based industrial conglomerate, which last month said it would cut 6,500 more jobs from its loss-making phone equipment division on top of 10,000 announced last year.
Its power generation, lighting and medical equipment businesses have done better, however.
Siemens’ profit rose to 1.28 billion euros ($1.18 billion) in the quarter ended in March from 578 million euros year ago, mainly from selling shares in its former computer-chip subsidiary Infineon.