|
11.03.2008 At Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co KG (SEN), a wholly owned subsidiary
of Siemens AG, plans call for ongoing reorientation measures and further extensive
restructuring activities. These moves are intended to accelerate the company’s
transformation from a hardware supplier to a software and solutions provider to fit
changed market conditions. In a dramatically changing telecommunications market for
enterprise solutions, this transformation is absolutely essential and supports Siemens’
ongoing efforts to find a suitable partner for SEN. “We will begin accelerating the
reorientation of SEN and the related restructuring activities under the control
of Siemens to ensure that personnel measures associated with these changes will
be as socially compatible as possible.”, Siemens CFO Joe Kaeser said.
Planned sales or solutions involving a third party would affect roughly 3,000 employees
worldwide, of whom about 1,200 are in Germany. In addition, Siemens plans to cut 3,800
jobs worldwide, including up to 2,000 in Germany. In Germany, SEN’s headquarters and
other administrative and support functions are expected to be affected the most.
“We want to immediately begin negotiations with the employee side in Germany about
settling interests, and hope to conclude these talks as quickly as possible to give
employees the greatest possible certainty about what awaits them in the future,“
said Siegfried Russwurm, head of Corporate Human Resources and Labor Director at Siemens.
The planned personnel measures are part of a bundle of activities aimed at accelerating
SEN’s transformation into a software and solutions provider. More focused investments
in innovative product solutions are to be continued, and, among other measures, the
company’s market position will be expanded in growth markets such as Russia and China.
The shift to software-based solutions also fundamentally changes customers’ requirements
for the maintenance of SEN’s products. As Thomas Zimmermann, COO of the Siemens subsidiary,
points out, “We’re reaping the first successes of our reorientation as a software
provider and the measures initiated in the past – but the restructuring must be rigorously
pursued. SEN will remain a reliable partner for its customers, whom we will continue
to serve in the future with our highly innovative products and professional services.”
As it changes to a software provider, SEN will give up its own manufacturing operations.
In Germany, plans call for the SEN plant in Leipzig, which currently has about 530
employees, and the telecommunications cable business, with some 60 employees, to be
sold or funneled into solutions involving a third party. In addition, SEN is seeking
a partnership with an IT provider for around 570 employees involved in direct sales
to customers for small and mid-sized systems. This move would enable this sales channel
to offer an expended product portfolio in the future so that customers get all solutions
from a single source and enjoy greater benefits. Reinhard Benditte, head of business
administration at SEN, noted: “All of SEN’s competitors rely almost exclusively on
indirect sales models, which gives them far greater flexibility and a substantially
more favorable cost position.”
For its international operations, SEN intends to sell or find partners for its
facilities in Thessaloniki (Greece) and Curitiba (Brazil), which have 270 and 470
employees, respectively. The possibility of a facility being closed down cannot be
ruled out. Order call centers in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, which
employ a total of about 1,100 people, are not part of SEN’S core portfolio and are
slated to be sold.
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical
engineering, operating in the industry, energy and healthcare sectors. The company has
around 400,000 employees (in continuing operations) working to develop and manufacture
products, design and install complex systems and projects, and tailor a wide range of
solutions for individual requirements. For over 160 years, Siemens has stood for
technical achievements, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality. In
fiscal 2007, Siemens had revenue of ˆ72.4 billion and income from continuing operations
of €3.9 billion (IFRS). Further information is available on the Internet at:
www.siemens.com.
This document contains forward-looking statements and information – that is,
statements related to future, not past, events. These statements may be identified by
words such as “expects,” “looks forward to,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,”
“believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “will,” “project” or words of similar meaning.
Such statements are based on our current expectations and certain assumptions, and are,
therefore, subject to certain risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors, many of
which are beyond Siemens’ control, affect our operations, performance, business strategy
and results and could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Siemens
to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that
may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For us, particular
uncertainties arise, among others, from changes in general economic and business
conditions (including margin developments in major business areas); the challenges
of integrating major acquisitions and implementing joint ventures and other
significant portfolio measures; changes in currency exchange rates and interest
rates; introduction of competing products or technologies by other companies; lack
of acceptance of new products or services by customers targeted by Siemens; changes
in business strategy; the outcome of pending investigations and legal proceedings,
especially the corruption investigation we are currently subject to in Germany, the
United States and elsewhere; the potential impact of such investigations and proceedings
on our ongoing business including our relationships with governments and other customers;
the potential impact of such matters on our financial statements; as well as various
other factors. More detailed information about certain of these factors is contained
throughout this report and in our other filings with the SEC, which are available on
the Siemens website, www.siemens.com, and on the
SEC's website, www.sec.gov. Should one or more of
these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the relevant
forward-looking statement as expected, anticipated, intended, planned, believed,
sought, estimated or projected. Siemens does not intend or assume any obligation to
update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which
differ from those anticipated.
|
