The manufacturer of cabling machines Komax records a sharp decline in its turnover. To deal with this situation, it will put its sites in Dierikon, in the canton of Lucerne, and Cham, in the canton of Zug, entirely on partial unemployment.
The measure comes into force on July 1. Since the end of 2023, order intake has been declining ‘due to the various uncertainties prevailing in the automotive industry’, Komax informs in a press release published on Monday.
‘In Europe and Asia in particular, customers are reluctant to make investment decisions due to existing overcapacity and a tense economic situation,’ adds the company. Only India is an exception to this rule, she points out.
Its solid order book at the start of the year, amounting to 208.2 million francs, enabled the group to partially compensate for the lack of orders during the first months of the year, which is now no longer possible , he explains.
During the first five months of the year, order intake and turnover were each approximately 20% lower than those of the previous year.
Komax expects its revenue decline to remain at this level for the full year. In 2023, it had achieved a turnover of 752 million. Overall, he expects slightly positive Ebit for this year, he adds.
In order to cope with this situation, the group began to reduce its costs as well as its workforce. It has not replaced the departures and, since last May, has put its Dierikon production employees on partial unemployment. ‘Subject to the agreement of the cantonal authorities, this will be extended to the entire site from July 1, 2024 and the Cham site, in Switzerland, will also be placed on partial unemployment,’ says Komax.
The company also announces that it has stopped production at Komax Testing Bulgaria since the end of April and is in the process of closing its site in Jettingen, Germany.
It still says it wants to strengthen its presence in the growing Chinese market. To this end, Komax will acquire 56% of the Chinese company Hosver, manufacturer of machines for processing high-voltage cables intended for electrically powered vehicles, on July 1.
/ATS
