Lenzing in Upper Austria: Reduction of 500 Jobs is Under Consideration
The employee representatives have called for a works meeting at the factory premises, and the supervisory board is also meeting in the morning. A reduction of 500 jobs is on the table.
The employee representatives were informed of a reduction of 500 positions in administration, confirmed the deputy employee works council chairman Michael Bichler - around 200 jobs are to be cut this fall, with the rest over the next two years. Specifically, administrative jobs are to be relocated abroad, presumably to India or the Czech Republic, to save costs.
Works Meeting and Supervisory Board Meeting at Lenzing
How exactly this will proceed is not yet known, as negotiations are still ongoing, according to the employee representatives. Employees are to be informed of the current status in a - non-public - works meeting on Monday morning. The workforce is "motivated to show how important it is to keep the jobs," emphasized Gottfried Lichtenberger, deputy managing director of GPA Upper Austria.
"The employees have carried the company through the crisis," Bichler stressed. Cutting jobs is "short-sighted," because "in the long term, the external costs for outsourced services will explode," he is convinced. "We need investments at the site and not a new cost-cutting program every six months," which ultimately also ties up capacities.
Social Plan Negotiated
"We are talking about people," Lichtenberger insisted on the "years of experience and the willingness of the employees to make improvement suggestions for the location." A "very good social plan" has been negotiated for those affected, said Bichler, which could cushion the job loss. However, for the colleagues, "the livelihood is at risk."
The company has so far "neither confirmed nor denied" media reports about the job cuts to the APA. It is possible that a statement will be made after the supervisory board meeting. The fiber manufacturer employs around 7,700 people worldwide, about 3,000 of whom are at the headquarters in Lenzing.
Lenzing Group: Recently Slight Upward Trend
The Lenzing Group recently reported a slight upward trend despite the disruptions caused by US customs policy. Revenue increased by 2.3 percent in the first half of the year compared to the first half of 2024, reaching 1.34 billion euros. The bottom line was a profit of 15.2 million euros, after a loss of 65.4 million euros in the previous year's half.
Lenzing processes wood into pulp and produces fibers from it for the fashion, trade, industry, cosmetics, and hygiene sectors. The main shareholder of Lenzing AG is the domestic industrial holding B&C, which holds 37.25 percent. The B&C Group was founded in 2000 by Bank Austria and Creditanstalt. In 2024, B&C gave up its majority in Lenzing, and the Brazilian pulp company Suzano took over a 15 percent stake. Suzano has a purchase option for an additional 15 percent until 2028. 6.97 percent belong to the US investment bank Goldman Sachs, and 40.78 percent of Lenzing shares are in free float. Over the past twelve months, the Lenzing share price has plummeted by more than a quarter.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.