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Siemens to cut 1,400 jobs in Germany

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Siemens to cut 1,400 jobs in Germany
A man helps build a gas turbine at Siemens in Berlin. Photo: DPA

Industrial conglomerate Siemens said Tuesday it would slash 2,700 jobs worldwide at its gas and power unit, including 1,400 in its home country Germany, "over several years".

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The majority of jobs cut in Germany will be in Berlin and Erlangen in Bavaria. 

The division - set for an independent stock market flotation in 2020 - will "require further savings of €500 million", Siemens said in a statement.

"Measures are required in order to reduce costs (and) adjust to the declining numbers of major projects," the company added.

Around 7,000 jobs cuts and site closures had already been announced at the
unit.

"Siemens will now begin consultations with the relevant employee representatives and then implement the planned measures... in a way that is socially responsible," the company said.

'Unimaginative'

Still, the IG Metall union - the largest in Germany with over 2.2 million members - called the job cuts "unimaginative," saying other solutions could be found.

"In a market that is growing in the long term and has long cycles, the short-term reduction of employees is not the best solution, especially in view of the increasing shortage of skilled workers," the union said in a statement.

SEE ALSO: How Germany plans to fight worker shortage with new immigration law

Gas and power brings together Munich-based Siemens' oil and gas, conventional power generation, power transmission and related services businesses.

With 64,000 employees in 80 countries, it booked sales of €12.4 billion in 2018 and €377 million in profit, including with large contracts in Egypt and Iraq.

But its profitability is declining year on year, due to falling demand for power plant equipment as a result of the global shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

In 2018, its margin was just 3.8 percent, while Siemens' group-wide target is between 11 and 15 percent.

The group has in recent years spun off its medical devices unit, known as Healthineers, its wind turbines division Gamesa and lightbulb maker Osram.

SEE ALSO: Siemens eyes major revamp as energy woes sap profit

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