Hundreds of Jobs at Risk at OMV in Austria
On Thursday, employees were informed about the plans by staff representatives. The Revo program is set to be completed by 2027. During the company meeting, a reduction in the mid-three-digit range was mentioned, and according to "Kurier", the OMV management stated that 400 people in Austria would be affected.
OMV silent on reports of job cuts
Officially, OMV stated in response to an APA inquiry: "We ask for your understanding that we do not comment on this topic." How many jobs will be reduced through natural attrition and how many employees will be laid off is therefore unclear for the time being.
"At OMV, it is always about the future viability and competitiveness of the company in the best interest of all our stakeholders," the company further stated. "In a volatile and challenging market environment, possible adjustments of any kind are necessary to ensure exactly this success in the future." This also includes personnel measures, which would be "designed in close dialogue with our employee representatives to be socially responsible." Further details would follow in due course.
According to "Kurier", the corporate sector is particularly expected to be streamlined. The administration employs more than 1,000 staff. Internationally, the savings program is likely to result in cuts, especially at the Romanian Petrom, but also at the Bavarian refinery Burghausen and the Bratislava site, the newspaper reported.
Romanian subsidiary Petrom radically downsized
With the acquisition of the state-owned Romanian oil and gas company Petrom in 2004, OMV moved up to a higher league: To the then nearly 6,500 employees in Austria, more than 50,000 in Romania were added. OMV then did what the Romanian state as owner had not dared to do until then: Soon after the acquisition, a radical job cut followed at the Romanian subsidiary - today only about 10,500 people are employed there. During the same period, employment at OMV in Austria remained almost unchanged with slight fluctuations - today it is around 5,400.
Union: Job cuts at OMV a heavy blow for economic location
For GPA head Barbara Teiber, the planned job cuts at OMV are "a heavy blow for the economic location, which comes as a surprise against the backdrop of economic success stories and the highly praised OMV-ADNOC-Borealis deal." The union leader appealed to the federal government to "assert the influence of the Republic through the state holding ÖBAG to prevent this clear-cutting." Especially as part of the sensitive infrastructure and as a major energy supplier for the Republic, OMV has a strategic value for Austria. "A job cut of this magnitude hurts twice in the context of the overall economic situation."
Hattmannsdorfer: "The ball is now in the board's court"
"I have clearly communicated to the board that these plans need to be socially acceptable - and made it clear that I expect close involvement of employee representatives," said Minister of Economic Affairs Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer in a written statement. "Since this is initial information, the ball is now in the board's court to clarify its plans in order to assess the current discussion."
(APA/Red)
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