Sales increased

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Stefan Pierer does not have a good feeling: "The economic researchers have already revised their forecasts and they will do so again. It's going to be tough."

(Bild: Markus Wenzel (2), Krone KREATIV)

He repeatedly warns of the consequences of the enormous cost increases for Austria as a business location and that companies will move away: Stefan Pierer. Now the KTM boss is also cutting costs at his Pierer Mobility: costs must be reduced and around 500 jobs must be cut. How the entrepreneur defends this.

2.66 billion euros in sales, an increase of 9.2 percent, and still an operating profit of 160 million euros despite the decline - Pierer Mobility presented these figures for 2023 on Wednesday.

"We are starting the fitness lesson late"
"I'm not satisfied with that," says Stefan Pierer. The Mattighofen-based motorcycle manufacturer with the brands KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas and MV Agusta, which is also involved in the bicycle sector as an e-bike producer, had already announced at the beginning of December that a cost-cutting program was coming. Parts of motorcycle production and development will be relocated to India and China, and costs will have to be reduced by a high double-digit million amount: "We are starting late with the fitness lesson," Pierer commented.

If I look at the annual working hours for employees, they are 1650 to 1700 in Austria and 2400 in China. They simply work more there.

Stefan Pierer, Chef von Pierer Mobility

The fact that many people classify the reduction of around 500 jobs in the core workforce and among temporary workers as a "defiant reaction" because the wage rounds were again so high and Pierer wanted to set an example as President of the Federation of Austrian Industries in Upper Austria is dismissed by the entrepreneur with "such nonsense".

Many companies are relocating in order to keep costs under control, he says: "Everyone is doing it, it's happening across the board. I just say it openly and honestly."

FACC - here boss Robert Machtlinger - is adding 450 employees this year.

(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

FACC, on the other hand, is on course for growth. After extreme staff cuts in 2020, the need for employees is now huge. Last year, 536 new employees were brought on board, and an increase of 450 is planned for this year. "Half of them in Austria, the other half in our foreign subsidiaries," reveals CEO Robert Machtlinger.

Strikes "do more harm to the respective location"
Do the many flight cancellations, which are mainly caused by strikes, dampen the joy of flying? "No, such things are more detrimental to the respective location. If there have to be double-digit increases in personnel costs every year, the European location will eventually become a big Disneyland," says the FACC CEO.