KSM Castings Group is cutting 400 jobs in Germany in the coming months.
In addition, a new restructuring collective agreement is to be negotiated with the IG Metall union for remaining employees.
Go deeper with GlobalData
However, all German sites are to be retained. KSM Castings Group had applied for a protective shielding procedure at the Hildesheim district court on 2 July, 2020.
“Although we are currently recording a very good order intake, we know this is mainly due to catch-up effects from the previous corona lockdown,” said KSM Castings CEO, Zhihua Zhu.
“The current sales figures of the car industry and the outlook of the market researchers are clear. We will therefore not be able to avoid adjusting our personnel capacities and cost structure, including the remaining personnel costs.
“This is the only way we can become competitive again, maintain our German locations, secure jobs and give our employees a long-term perspective”.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataKSM Castings is not planning to close any sites as part of its restructuring. All four KSM sites in Germany in Hildesheim, Wernigerode, Wuppertal and Radevormwald are affected by the job cuts.
At the largest production site and headquarters in Hildesheim, around 270 of the current 900 jobs are to be cut, including not only in production but also in administration.
For the production site, Bergisches Land (Wuppertal and Radevormwald), a reduction of around 90 jobs (currently approximately 430 employees) is planned and for the Wernigerode site, around 30 jobs (currently approximately 400 employees).
The planned job cuts are part of the restructuring concept and reorganisation plan, which KSM Castings Group will submit to the Hildesheim district court by the end of September as part of the protective shield proceedings. According to current planning, the job cuts in individual areas are to be spread across several months.
To this end, KSM will negotiate a reconciliation of interests and a social plan with the general works council in the next few weeks. In addition, KSM intends to negotiate a new collective restructuring agreement with IG Metall for the remaining employees.
KSM Castings Group employs around 2,350 people at five production sites in Germany and the Czech Republic.
