350 employees of the solar division in Sattledt must go! This news shocked Fronius at the beginning of June because it underlined how difficult things have become in the photovoltaic sector. What is the future for the family business from Pettenbach after the severe recession? asked the “Krone”.
It was common knowledge that demand for inverters had come to a standstill. However, it was only Fronius’ move that showed how much this was affecting companies. At the beginning of June, the technology group reported 350 employees working in the “Solar Energy” sector in Sattledt (Upper Austria) to the employment agency for redundancy.
“At Fronius, we find community very important and that can also cost something. Unfortunately, the measures taken so far are not enough and we therefore have to drastically reduce our personnel costs,” said owner Elisabeth Engelbrechtsmüller-Strauß, who spoke of a “painful day for the company”.
1000 employees with internal working time reduction
What has happened since then? After the 30-day retention period, the affected employees are now being dismissed, it is said. The internal working time reduction, which was introduced at the end of 2023, will apply until the end of the current year. Around 1,000 employees are currently working in this part-time scheme.
Scherleitner now heads the solar division
And how is demand developing? Since wholesale stocks are still very high, there have been no major breakthroughs in this area yet. Behind the scenes, Fronius is also questioning the processes and procedures in the “solar energy” sector. One consequence of this: Manager Harald Scherleitner took over the management, predecessor Martin Hackl remains in the company, but will pay more attention to the topics of lobbying and association work.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
