Machinery industry Siemens plans to cut around 6000 jobs
Siemens plans to cut around 6000 jobs worldwide, 2850 of them in Germany. The recently weakening Digital Industries (DI) division is particularly affected, as the company announced on Tuesday.
18.03.2025, 15:55
SDA
Group CEO Roland Busch had already announced job cuts in the low to mid four-digit range in the fall, and now there are concrete figures. 5,600 jobs - 2,600 of them in Germany - are to be cut in the automation business, which is part of the Digital Industries division, by the end of September 2027.
Among other things, it has been suffering from high inventory levels at customers and dealers for some time, leading to weak demand and poor capacity utilization. Turnover in the automation business had dropped significantly. Most recently, however, the Group expected an improvement in the current year.
Overall, however, business at Siemens is going well: in the first quarter, the Group made a profit of 2.1 billion euros.
Downsizing necessary
Changing conditions in key markets made adjustments necessary, Siemens said. "The German market in particular has been declining for two years. Capacities in Germany must therefore be adjusted." Overall, however, the number of employees in Germany will "tend to remain constant", as Siemens is recruiting in other, growing areas.
A further 450 jobs are to be cut by the end of September this year in the business with charging solutions for electric vehicles, which Siemens intends to spin off. "There is currently strong price pressure in the market and limited growth potential for charging stations in the lower power range. The business is therefore focusing on market segments such as fast-charging infrastructure for depots and fleets as well as charging on the move," it said.
Criticism from the employee side
Criticism came from the employee side. "We have no understanding for the planned measures at DI and are surprised and annoyed by the massive number of planned redundancies," said Birgit Steinborn, Chairwoman of the General Works Council and Deputy Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board.
"If the One Tech Company is to be a growth program, then we demand that jobs are created sustainably instead of being cut in favor of the profit margin," she said. Last year, Siemens announced a program under this title, which, among other things, aims to bring units closer together.
