Steel industry
130 jobs gone: mass layoffs at Swiss Steel in Emmenbrücke
130 of 750 jobs will be cut at the Lucerne steelworks. There are expected to be 80 layoffs. A total of 800 full-time positions will be cut at home and abroad.
A worker at the Swiss Steel steelworks in Emmenbrücke, Lucerne.
Bild: Michael Buholzer/Keystone (22. 4. 2024)
For a long time, the ailing steel company Swiss Steel managed without major job cuts in Emmenbrücke – but now the home region is being hit hard: 130 of the current 750 jobs are to be cut at the Lucerne steelworks. Swiss Steel said the jobs to be cut would be in both production and administrative areas. The natural fluctuation will probably not be sufficient, which will make it necessary to lay off 80 employees. This is a mass layoff. The consultation phase has started and there is a social plan.
The measure comes as no surprise. A restructuring program has been running at Swiss Steel for some time. In addition, CEO Frank Koch announced just a few days ago that part of the production capacity would be reduced. “The cuts are painful, but unfortunately unavoidable,” he is quoted as saying in the statement.
As justification, the company points to “the persistently weak demand in the European manufacturing industry, the low production level and the subdued growth prospects of the relevant customers”. In fact, the Swiss Steel Group has been financially troubled for a long time. Demand from the automotive industry has collapsed and electricity prices continue to cause high cost pressure. The 300 million euros that main shareholder Martin Haefner injected in the spring have practically been burned up again.
The second remaining Swiss steelmaker, Stahl Gerlafingen, also recently announced that it would cut 120 jobs. Politicians have been calling for measures to support the Swiss steel industry for a long time.
France and Germany also affected
In addition to the dismantling in Emmenbrücke, Swiss Steel is also planning cuts in other countries. The main areas affected are the European production sites and the sales organization. A total of 800 full-time positions will be cut at home and abroad. Specifically, 530 jobs will be eliminated and the weekly working hours of 270 additional full-time positions will be reduced. The number of employees is expected to fall to under 7,000 in the first half of 2025.
Swiss Steel speaks of using the measures to “ensure long-term, optimized security of the production sites in Switzerland, Germany and France”.
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