German industrial powerhouse Siemens announced plans to cut over 6,000 jobs globally due to weak demand and rising competition, particularly from China and within its home market.
The job reductions, which represent about 2% of Siemens’s global workforce, will predominantly affect the factory automation unit, with a smaller number of positions being eliminated in the electric vehicle (EV) charging business.
Siemens attributed the job cuts to sluggish demand, especially in key markets like China and Germany, coupled with intensified competition, which has led to a significant decrease in orders and revenue for its industrial automation sector.
The company stated that these cuts are necessary to enhance the long-term competitiveness of the affected business units and to enable further investments in growth markets.
Approximately 5,600 jobs will be axed by 2027 in the automation division, which supplies robotics, machinery, and industrial software to factories.
Roughly half of these cuts will occur in Germany. The company also plans to reduce 450 positions in its EV charging business by the end of the current financial year, in light of limited growth prospects for low-power charging stations.
Siemens, which operates in various sectors from rail transport to data management, has faced challenges as both China and the European economy slow down.
The company has also been impacted by declining profits, with a drop in quarterly operating profit towards the end of 2024.
For those affected in Germany, Siemens intends to explore internal job reassignments, and some of the job losses will occur as employees retire.
