Motorcycle production

KTM plant in Mattighofen shrinks by 35,000 bikes

According to the half-year financial report, Stefan Pierer had laid off 373 employees by the end of June this year.

(Bild: AFP)

Declining sales, red figures, an intensified savings package! The drop in demand for motorcycles is forcing Pierer Mobility AG to make further job cuts. At the plant in Mattighofen (Upper Austria), the challenges are also clearly noticeable in the motorcycles produced. 

At the beginning of December 2023, Pierer Mobility announced a cost-cutting package including the relocation of parts of production and a reduction of around 300 employees in motorcycle assembly and research and development.

The next blow came on Friday: a further 200 employees, this time in administration, will have to leave the company managed by Stefan Pierer. What are the reasons for this? The motorcycle business is stuttering. "After three years of above-average success", as it says in the half-year financial report, the Mattighofen-based company is suffering from declining sales in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Bicycle division in deficit
As a result, Pierer Mobility (KTM, GasGas, Husqvarna and MV Agusta) was in the red in the first half of 2024 with a net loss for the period of 172 million euros. The loss-making bike division, which is currently being restructured, also put pressure on earnings.

How do you want to get back on track now? On the one hand, the reduction in personnel costs should relieve the budget, while on the other hand, production has also been cut back, which in turn reduces tied-up capital and should relieve the burden on warehouses.

What does this mean for Mattighofen? In the first half of the year, 76,383 motorcycles were produced there, compared to 111,940 in the same period last year.