Nearly 3000 people are set to lose their jobs as wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa (BME: SGRE) plans to return to profitability.
A statement from the Madrid-listed firm said: “Around 2,900 positions will be impacted globally, particularly in Siemens Gamesa’s major European countries: Denmark (800), Germany (300), Spain (475) and the United Kingdom (50).”
Earlier in the year, Reuters had reported that the company was planning on cutting 2,500 jobs, or about 9% of its overall payroll, in an effort to reduce the losses that prompted its main shareholder, Siemens Energy to launch a takeover.
Siemens Gamesa has four listed facilities in the UK with bases in Glasgow, Newcastle, Camberley and Hull.
The negotiation period will start at the beginning of next month and the company has said it will “will closely collaborate with employee representatives to minimise the impact of this adjustment, prioritizing natural attrition and internal transfers”
The new operating model and organisational structure will become effective on 1st January next year.
Headcount will be adjusted accordingly following negotiations with the workers’ councils, and no later than the fiscal year 2025.
Other countries outside of Europe are also set to experience job cuts moving forward and details of this will be laid out in meetings with the workers’ councils.
Siemens Gamesa chief executive, Jochen Eickholt, said on Tuesday that his firm looks to fix major issues with its onshore wind business model in the coming three months although 10 to 15 related loss-making projects would stay a drag until 2024.
Mr Eickholt said: “It is never easy to make such a decision, but now is the time to take decisive and necessary actions to turn the company around and ensure a sustainable future.
“We need to build a stronger and more competitive Siemens Gamesa to secure our position as a key player in the green energy transition”
In May Siemens Energy launched a bid to buy the roughly 33% of the shares it did not already own in the renewables company, offering $4.27 billion.
The German energy company’s aim is to turn the company’s finances around and get it back into the black.
However, this deal is awaiting final approval from Madrid, where Siemens Gamesa has been listed since 2016.
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