Type
Internal restructuring
Country
Germany
Region
Location of affected unit(s)
Henningsdorf, Görlitz, Bautzen, Braunschweig, Kassel, Mannheim, Siegen
Sector
Manufacturing
Manufacture For Transport Equipment
Manufacture Of Other Transport Equipment
30.3 - Manufacture of air and spacecraft and related machinery

2,200 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
17 February 2016
Employment effect (start)
17 February 2016
Foreseen end date
31 December 2017

Description

On 17 February 2016, Canadian manufacturer of aircrafts and trains, Bombardier, announced plans to cut approximately 7,000 jobs worldwide by 2017. A total of 1,430 cuts will affect German sites. In Germany, Bombardier develops and constructs trains, streetcars and locomotives. The head office of the railway business is located in Berlin. The affected plants are mainly located in Henningsdorf, Görlitz and Bautzen. Further cuts will take place in Braunschweig, Kassel, Mannheim and Siegen.

Approximately half of the affected employees are temporary agency workers. The job reduction will mainly affect the production. Job cuts are due to internal restructuring as the company wants to become more competitive, save costs and has been suffering from a drop in orders. Negotiations with the works council are still in its early stages.

The company fears the competition in Far East, particularly in aircraft construction with this business area having reported a significant decline in sales. Moreover, Bombardier is currently relocating their production to the Czech Republic and Poland.

Bombardier, headquartered in Montreal, currently employs about 10,000 staff in Germany and more than 70,000 employees worldwide.

UPDATED 29/06/2017: On 29 June 2017, Bombardier announced the latest figures regarding job cuts in Germany. A total of 2,200 jobs will disappear from German sites, which is roughly one fourth of Bombardier's total 8,500-headed workforce in Germany. Among the affected members of staff are 700 temporary agency workers. Currently, Bombardier's management and the works' council are negotiating a social plan. The supervisory board expects the management to rule out compulsory redundancies until 2019. Of all affected sites, Görlitz and Henningsdorf will see the largest number of job losses. Bombardier announced that all German sites will remain open. 

The reductions are part of Bombardier's global restructuring programme, which also includes investments of €70 million. The sites in Bautzen, Henningsdorf, Kassel, Mannheim and Siegen will become competence centres with global strategic importance.


Sources

  • 17 February 2016: On Vista
  • 17 February 2016: Sächsische Zeitung Online
  • 17 February 2016: tagesschau.de
  • 18 February 2016: Der Tagesspiegel

Citation

Eurofound (2016), Bombardier, Internal restructuring in Germany, factsheet number 86521, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/86521.