Reduction of holiday and leisure credits, separation of temporary workers – voestalpine has already recently taken measures in connection with factories in Styria, and in Germany there is no factory at all. The economic challenges are also reflected in the figures of the steel group from Linz (Upper Austria): turnover and profit shrank in the first half of 2024/25.
An auto parts factory in Birkenfeld, Germany, will be closed, resulting in the loss of 220 jobs; At the Dettingen location, the workforce is expected to shrink from approximately 650 employees to just under 400. voestalpine announced this in mid-October in connection with the restructuring of the Metal Forming Division. This step is intended to create future prospects for approximately 2,000 employees, the steel company from Linz (Upper Austria) announced. A few days earlier it was already clear that the originally predicted profit for the 2024/25 financial year would not be achieved…
Turnover fell slightly to eight billion euros
On Wednesday morning, voestalpine, which also completed the sale of its German subsidiary Buderus Edelstahl in October, presented its half-year results: And as expected, these reflect the challenges of the market environment. Turnover ultimately amounted to eight billion euros, compared to last year’s 8.5 billion euros.
The operating result fell to 338 million euros, the result after tax shrank by 138 million euros and amounted to 183 million euros. It is said that the company managed to cope well in a difficult environment, especially for the European steel industry.
Flexibility and adaptability
“In this extremely difficult environment for European steel companies, voestalpine is once again showing flexibility and adaptability,” emphasizes CEO Herbert Eibensteiner. And further: “In those industries that were confronted with structural changes, we responded immediately with concrete measures, such as the reorganization of our German Automotive Components locations.”
The company’s broad positioning makes it possible to better balance the different sectors that are doing well: with a view to the first half of 2024/25, we are talking about very good business in rail infrastructure and aviation, including the high performance of voestalpine There is a high demand for compartment storage systems made of steel profiles. However, demand is declining in the energy sector, while the construction and mechanical engineering sectors remain at a low level. Although there are few promising signals from European car manufacturers, business in the car industry outside Europe remains good.
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.
