Siemens Energy announced its plan to reduce costs by up to 400 million euros in order to make its Spanish wind turbine subsidiary, Gamesa, profitable. This could potentially lead to job cuts as part of efforts to simplify and optimize the company’s structure. The company stated that the workforce adjustments will be necessary, but they hope to keep the total number of employees relatively constant in the coming years, with certain areas like offshore wind energy continuing to grow.
As of September 30, Siemens Gamesa employed almost 29,300 workers worldwide, with significant numbers in countries like Denmark, Spain, and Germany. While it is unclear how the measure will specifically impact Spain, Siemens Energy’s main work centers in the country are in Zamudio, Sarriguren, and Ágreda. The company plans to negotiate concrete measures with worker representatives in the coming months to determine the exact impact of the workforce reduction.
Siemens Energy also announced changes in leadership, with CEO Jochen Eickholt stepping down and Vinod Philip taking over as his successor. There will be a restructuring of central functions within Siemens Gamesa, with a focus on agility, effectiveness, and transparency. The company aims for its wind turbine subsidiary to return to profitability by 2026 with a double-digit operating margin in the long term.
Union representatives at Siemens Gamesa expressed concern about the potential job cuts but emphasized their support for onshore wind activities. CC OO and UGT have called for a clear commitment from new CEO Vinod Philip regarding business development opportunities in Spain. Despite recent financial results showing positive net profits and growth in industrial transformation divisions offsetting losses in the wind business