The economic situation causes problems for the steel group
The steel group from Linz is being hit hard by the weak economy. In the first three quarters, turnover fell by 8.8 per cent and profits halved from EUR 864 million to EUR 431 million. The main reason for this is the fall in steel prices. Prices for crude steel have fallen significantly in the past 12 months, by almost twenty per cent. The company had already suffered a significant drop in turnover in the previous quarters. The reason for the decline is the economic weakness in the industrial and consumer markets.
Automotive industry, aviation and railway - a ray of hope
At VOESTALPINE, the demand is weakening in three important customer groups. These include the consumer goods industry, the construction industry and, above all, mechanical engineering. "Voest is therefore cutting costs," announced CEO Herbert Eibensteiner. "We have an ongoing programme where we are trying to save around 300 million euros of costs every year."
Annual personnel costs of around 2 billion euros
Major cuts in personnel are planned in European plants, except Austria, where the company will reduce its costs by cutting overtime and temporary workers. In Austria alone, the annual personnel costs amount to 2 billion euros. The total number of employees at VOESTALPINE has actually increased by 694 to 50,712. In future, VOESTALPINE will increasingly focus on sectors that have developed well recently. These include the automotive, aviation and railway industries.
Source: www.voestalpine.com
