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voestalpine Group Expands Cost Reduction Initiatives
01/15/2009 - Voestalpine is planning to reduce the working hours for about 10% of its 42.000 employees in the coming months.
Voestalpine reports that it is continuing to promote previously initiated cost-cutting measures in response to the ongoing economic situation. Such measures have included the reduction of temporary staff and overtime, and the usage of residual vacations and flexible working hour schemes. In addition, more about 150 employees in Austria have accepted an offer of support for educational leave.
The Group is also setting up a personnel assignment system that will help to move employees among available positions within the Group.
In order to avoid layoffs, voestalpine is also planning to reduce the working hours for about 10% of its 42.000 employees in the coming months. This will primarily affect approximately 1500 employees at German, Dutch and Austrian sites of the Group’s Automotive Division and about a quarter of the Steel Division staff (approximately 2500 employees).
According to an agreement that is currently under negotiation between the management board and the works council, employees in steel production that are to be affected by the cut-back will work approximately 15% less for the coming 3 months, with pay to be reduced by a maximum of 10%.
“The current economic situation can only be handled with radical measures,” said voestalpine CEO Wolfgang Eder. “Every one of us will have to make sacrifices in order to avoid layoffs in large scale, which remains our primary goal.”
