The Board of Directors of the robot manufacturer Kuka wants to swipe at its company headquarters in Augsburg, Germany, nearly every tenth point. This year, there are 350 full-time jobs will be destroyed, the company said. So far, Kuka employed in Augsburg has about 4,000 employees. Worldwide, more than 14,000 people are employed in the technology group. The robot producer had been acquired at the beginning of 2017 from the South China household manufacturer Midea unit for 4.5 billion euros.
chief Executive Peter Mohnen had already announced in January to reduce costs. By 2021, the company wants to save, therefore, 300 million Euro. How many Posts should be deleted, was not at that time become known. In January Mohnen had communicated to the Board of Directors see the job losses are not the guarantee of Employment to be bound by Midea was submitted at the time of Acquisition. What is the Kuka Board of management do have nothing to do with the guarantee of Employment of Midea.
The objectives for the past year had reduced, Kuka several times, at the end of the sales had declined by nearly seven percent to 3.2 billion euros. The new orders had reduced by more than 8 percent to 3.3 billion euros. The profit before interest and taxes (Ebit) shrank by 2018, with 34.3 million euros, a third of the previous year’s value. “The result of the last year is not satisfactory,” said Mohnen.
For 2019, Kuka expects a slight increase in demand. Growth is expected mainly from Asia and particularly from China. The sales will rise slightly to around 3.3 billion euros.