Voestalpine closes work in Birkenfeld: 220 jobs in danger!

Voestalpine closes work in Birkenfeld: 220 jobs in danger!

Birkenfeld, Deutschland - The Austrian steel group Voestalpine is faced with a significant restructuring of its automotive supplier in Germany due to the continuing economic challenges. In a current message, the company announced that the automotive plant in Birkenfeld should be closed.

The closure of the work in Birkenfeld is expected to cost around 220 jobs, which should not surprise you in view of the years of loss of this location. Peter Felsbach, the spokesman for the company, pointed out that in Germany intensive social plan negotiations between Voestalpine, the IG Metall union and the works council would be initiated in order to support the employees concerned as best as possible.

locations and downsizing in Germany

Voestalpine plans to reduce the workforce by a third at the Dettingen location, where around 650 employees are employed. These measures are part of their strategy to enable the remaining four locations in Germany to have a more stable future. While Germany is fighting massive challenges in the automotive sector, the Austrian branch of the restructuring is largely unaffected. According to Felsbach, only occasional minor adjustments are to be expected.

The pressure on the group has increased in the past few weeks. The manufacturers in the automotive industry have to struggle with a noticeable decline in their business. This is also reflected in the current profit warning of Voestalpine, which has predicted a decline in EBITDA from previously calculated 1.7 billion euros to 1.4 billion euros for the 2024/25 financial year.

The economic circumstances can be felt in particular in the German automotive market, where the sales figures have decreased significantly. These developments mean that voestalpine is forced to take drastic measures in order to stabilize the division in Germany and to keep the number of jobs at a sustainable level. The discussions about social plans are already in progress, and in the coming weeks, employee meetings will take place to inform the workforce about the planned changes.

The closure of the work in Birkenfeld therefore forms a critical point in the realignment of Voestalpine and illustrates the challenges with which companies are confronted in the current economic situation.

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