A deep restructuring is necessary, a three-figure amount is needed to secure liquidity for 2025 at KTM AG, production is limited – this was reported by Pierer Mobility. There is great unrest among the workforce: how many jobs will be lost? About 1,000 employees may be temporarily laid off.
At first glance, KTM’s online presence gives no indication that there is a lot of unrest behind the scenes at the motorcycle manufacturer. Only if you look closer will you find an offer that shows how high the inventory of the Mattighofen company should be: more than 30 models from 2023 and 2024 will be sold at the end of December, reducing VAT for customers. .
The austerity program has been running since December 2023
The faltering demand, which has also spread to the North American market, combined with the sharp increase in costs and high inventories, means that Pierer Mobility now has to pull the cord. Although staff have been gradually reduced since December 2023, parts of development and production have been moved to Asia and costs are being reduced, that is not enough.
On Tuesday evening, Pierer Mobility AG announced: A deep restructuring is needed at KTM, and there is also a need for additional liquidity amounting to a three-digit million amount. It was also made clear that production would be reduced to reduce inventories. The savings target is placed in the overhead area, i.e. administration.
In August it was announced that a further 200 jobs would be cut
What does this mean for the working population? The majority of employees who produce motorcycles for the KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas and MV Agusta brands work in the Innviertel, mainly in Mattighofen and Munderfing. At the end of June, the workforce was reported to be 6,024 employees, rising to 6,184 at the end of 2023. At least 300 jobs were expected to be lost in the first wave of cuts that started in December of the previous year. In August 2024 it was announced that another 200 employees would have to leave.
“We will make a decision in due course”
It is completely unclear what the restructuring announced on Tuesday means for employment. There will certainly be cuts. Pierer Mobility says: “We are modeling several overall scenarios and will make a decision in due course.” It is possible that up to 1,000 workers could be deregistered and sent to employment services – with the promise of reemployment.
Many people in the construction sector are familiar with such a measure when employees are deregistered in the winter. This summer, agricultural technology specialist Pöttinger also resorted to this model and “parked” 200 employees at the AMS for a few weeks; the promise of relocation was honored for all of them and they were returned.
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.
