The Austrian steel group Voestalpine suffered heavy losses in the 2019/20 financial year and recorded a loss of EUR 216 million, compared with a profit of EUR 459 million the year before.
“We are in the process of negotiating a social plan for around 500 to 550 employees”, Group CEO Herbert Eibensteiner said in a conference call on Wednesday, cited by Heute.
There will be around 250 jobs in Kindberg and up to 300 in Kapfenberg. Apprenticeships and research jobs are not affected by the savings.
In Styria, Voestalpine currently employs around 3.500 people on short-time schedule, almost a third of the workforce.
Global steel demand is expected to fall 6.4% this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on industrial and construction activity, before bouncing back next year, according to the World Steel Association.
Voestalpine expects demand to further slow over the summer, partly due to seasonal shutdowns, and hopes to be better able to assess further order development after September.
