Siemens to slash 4,200 IT jobs
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IT services and telecoms group to shed thousands of IT positions in latest cost-cutting drive
Siemens has announced that it is to cut its global IT workforce by 4,200 by the end of next year as part of its cost cutting strategy.
Almost half of all redundancies will be implemented in the company's home country, Germany. but the decision has cast doubt over the future of Siemens' UK IT workforce.
The decision, which will see Siemens reduce its total IT workforce by approximately 10%, could incur restructuring costs of up to €500 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Siemens said in a statement that it would "exhaust all possibilities for voluntary measures" during redundancy proceedings. "Measures will include, for example, the termination of employment contracts by mutual consent or the non-renewal of temporary contracts," it added.
In its latest set of financial results, for the three months ending December 31st 2009, Siemens reported a 24% rise in net income to €1.53 billion, mainly due to lower operating costs.
The company currently employs 400,000 staff worldwide, and has so far made approximately 23,000 redundancies in its current restructuring drive.
Last month, Siemens IT employees contracted to the BBC considered strike action in a bid to bring their wages into line with those paid to other BBC employees.
