Jul 24 2008
Within the context of its "Mobility in Motion" program, the Siemens Mobility Division intends to reorganize its manufacturing activities in Europe. The aim is to make its business operations competitive over the long term. As announced, approximately 1,800 jobs are to be cut in engineering and manufacturing worldwide.
Siemens means to give up its production facility in Prague, which employs around 950 people, by the end of fiscal 2009 at the latest. Selling the factory is viewed as one of the options available. The German and Austrian locations of the Division are to be retained. In Krefeld-Uerdingen (Germany), Siemens proposes to cut 220 jobs after all the repair services for the Combino come to an end there. The planned reduction of a further 630 jobs will primarily affect the Mobility locations in Braunschweig, Nuremberg, Erlangen, Berlin, Offenbach, Constance, Düsseldorf, Vienna and Graz. No jobs are to be lost in Munich.
"In the necessary reorganization process, excess capacity in our factories will be eliminated. This will ensure the long-term competitiveness of the Mobility Division", stated Hans-Jörg Grundmann, CEO of the Mobility Division. The main reason for the excess capacity is the increasing proportion of customers in growth markets such as China, for example, who more and more frequently demand the involvement of local partners. The Division is therefore planning to optimize its value adding and, for example, to hand over portions of production entirely to subcontractors, as is done in the automotive industry. Siemens also plans to give up its Mobility production facility in Prague. According to Grundmann: "In Prague, we have a number of very well trained specialists and can also imagine selling the factory to a reputable company."
In future, the production of rail vehicles for Mobility is to be concentrated in three centers of competence: aluminum vehicles are to be made in Krefeld-Uerdingen, steel vehicles in Vienna and locomotives in Munich. Production locations close to the customer such as the tram manufacturing plant in Sacramento (USA) are to be retained. As already announced in early July, a total of 2,500 jobs are to be cut worldwide in the Siemens Mobility Division in the course of the comprehensive restructuring program. Around 700 of them will be in sales and administration and approximately 1,800 in engineering and manufacturing, primarily in Europe, where 850 jobs are to go.
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