KTM in need: Almost 3 billion euros in debt and 500 job cuts threaten!

KTM in need: Almost 3 billion euros in debt and 500 job cuts threaten!

Mattighofen, Österreich - The KTM AG, known for its powerful motorcycles, submitted an bankruptcy application to the regional court in the Innkreis last Friday. The subsidiaries KTM Components GmbH and KTM Research & Development GmbH are also affected by this decision. According to reports from Vol.at , the overall liabilities amount to almost 3 billion euros, and a total of 3,623 employees have to worry about their positions. In the course of the renovation, 500 job cancellations are planned in the first few months: 200 at KTM AG, 250 in the research and development department and 50 in component production.

The bankruptcy is attributed, among other things, to the increased location costs as well as the current recession, which has led to a drastic decline in demand and thus to a inventory of around 130,000 motorcycles, which according to the KSV1870 credit protection association is an overcoption of around 1 billion euros. As a result of this development, drastic changes in production are also necessary: KTM has announced that it can switch from a two-shift operation to one-shift operation and plans production stops for January and February 2024, such as OE24.at reported.

critical voices and financial details

For the employees concerned and the Upper Austria region, this bankruptcy represents a big blow. According to the AKV, the creditors should only receive 30 percent of their claims in the planned renovation process within two years. The bankruptcy plan also stipulates that creditors have to register their claims by January 16. Despite the tense financial situation, KTM AG was able to achieve a net profit of 109 million euros in 2023 with almost 2 billion euros. However, there is skepticism with regard to the earlier decisions of the company, which have been shaped by acquisitions and high dividend payments in recent years, while the debts continued to grow.

industrial mood data indicate that bankruptcy not only endangered direct jobs at KTM; Other companies in the region could also be affected. The Upper Austrian labor market director Iris Schmidt said that a further 1,000 jobs in the area could be destroyed as a result of the job cut. In a round table, solutions and support offers from politics and business are now discussed in order to show the employees ways out of the crisis.