Threat of job cuts

Industrial crisis now hitting Styrian sites

Savings must be made at the Kapfenberg stainless steel plant.

(Bild: Katrin Kirchmayr)

The ongoing economic crisis is also becoming increasingly noticeable in the Voestalpine plants in Upper Styria. Personnel packages are being put together for Böhler Bleche in Mürzzuschlag and Böhler Edelstahl in Kapfenberg, and the reduction of permanent staff has not been ruled out.

Only a year ago, the opening of the new stainless steel plant in Kapfenberg was celebrated, a "once-in-a-century investment" for the town. Production (up to 205,000 tons of stainless steel per year) will be in full swing by the end of the year. Measures now need to be taken at the site, as Voestalpine spokesman Peter Felsbach explains in an interview with the "Krone" newspaper.

Talks with the works council have begun. As at Böhler Aerospace in Kapfenberg (where the strike at Boeing is causing concern), the main focus is on reducing overtime and vacation, as well as temporary staff. There are currently no plans to reduce permanent staff, but such a step has not been ruled out.

Böhler Bleche in Mürzzuschlag has already made some progress. A negotiated package is in place here, which primarily includes a reduction in overtime and the introduction of part-time models. A single-digit number of permanent employees have already had to leave the company. A second package is likely to follow.

Styrian leading company

• Voestalpine has eight sites in Styria with 9620 employees and 430 trainees in 20 apprenticeships.
• The most recent turnover was 5.7 billion euros. In the past ten years, 2.4 billion euros have been invested.
• The export quota of products manufactured in Styria is 90 percent.

The difficult economic environment in Europe, but above all in Germany, is therefore also making itself felt at Austria's largest industrial company. Spokesman Felsbach names three issues in particular that are problematic in Europe and which a new federal government must address: the strong regulation, the high labor costs (the most recent wage increase alone cost the Group 100 million euros) and the high energy costs. Both natural gas and electricity prices are many times higher than in the USA, and the gap is widening again. 

German automotive supplier plant to be closed
The European automotive industry is under particular pressure, with the VW crisis currently making headlines. Voestalpine is responding by closing its automotive supplier plant in Birkenfeld. Also in Germany, the subsidiary Buderus Edelstahl is sold to an associated company. The tool steel business has now been heavily taken over by Asian suppliers. In any case, Kapfenberg will specialize even more in the high-quality segment. 

Construction of blast furnace replacement has begun
Business is currently going well for other Styrian Voestalpine locations, such as Donawitz (steel), Zeltweg (railroad components) and Kindberg (high-tech tubes). The construction of the first electric arc furnace at the Leoben-Donawitz steelworks is on schedule. It is due to replace a conventional blast furnace from 2027. Together with a second electric arc furnace in Linz, this should save five percent of Austria's CO₂ emissions from 2029. Assembly of the hall and crane runways has already begun and APG is building a transformer station on the site to ensure the supply of renewable electricity.