From AFX News Limited
FRANKFURT, Germany — Siemens AG’s VDO Automotive unit is mulling the sale of its circuit board plant in Karben, Germany, Wolfgang Dehen, head of the unit, told works council representatives at meeting in mid-December, IG Metall said on its Siemens Dialog Online employee forum.
“We can’t accept an additional decline in volume at Karben, and we are actively seeking a possibility to stabilize the situation there,” Dehen said at the meeting in Dortmund, Germany. He added that Siemens was considering selling the unit and that talks were underway, IG Metall said.
Dehen declined to name any possible buyers for the operations, where 1,900 workers manufacture circuit boards for the auto industry, citing confidentiality agreements.
A Siemens VDO spokeswoman declined to comment directly on the report of a possible sale of the Karben facility.
“Siemens is constantly looking for ways to improve the performance of a number of VDO plants across Germany, and a variety of measures are under consideration,” she said.
Siemens VDO Automotive boosted its operating profit to 562 mln eur in the year through end-September, up 34 pct from 418 mln the year arlier. Sales rose to 9.001 bln eur, up from 8.375 bln.
Despite these gains, Siemens has pressured employees at its domestic operations to improve their performance.
In October, VDO’s works council reported that 400 jobs may be cut at its Wuerzburg, Germany, facility and that some production would be shifted to the Czech Republic.
The spokeswoman said that there were no new developments to report with regard to the Wuerzburg facility.
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