Household appliances: German Miele will eliminate or relocate up to 2,700 jobs worldwide

German high-end appliance maker Miele will cut or relocate up to 2,700 jobs worldwide, it announced Tuesday, citing a collapse in demand and rising production costs. The family group from Gütersloh (west) says it has “felt the effects of the global collapse in demand” and the “drastic increase in costs”, forcing it to adopt a savings plan affecting nearly 12% of the workforce. , according to a press release.

At the manufacturer of ovens, vacuum cleaners and other washing machines, the majority of the announced plan is based on 2,000 job cuts in Germany and elsewhere, mainly in so-called “indirect” areas, that is to say outside the production services and assembly lines, explains the group. According to another part of the plan, the production of washing machines for individuals will be transferred entirely and in stages to Poland, to Ksawerów, by 2027.

The result is that around 700 jobs will be cut at the German factory in Gütersloh, which currently assembles these devices. These measures, combined with an expected improvement in sales, should make it possible to generate around 500 million euros in financial room for maneuver by 2026, according to Miele. Discussions will now be held with employee representatives and the IG Metall union.

The scale of the announced job cuts is already “a disaster for the people who made Miele great,” responded Bernd Schreiber, president of the works council of the Gütersloh factory, in an IG press release. Metall. Employees threatened with relocation will “not sit idly by” and “will fight (with IG Metall) to preserve as many jobs as possible” in Germany, he continues.

The plan comes during the company's 125th year of founding, which follows a difficult 2023 financial year, ending several years of strong growth. Last year, sales fell by 9% and the number of units sold by more than double, after record sales of 5.43 billion euros posted in 2022. In question, the end of the “coronavirus boom » and the “war in Ukraine”, according to Miele, who adds that “signs of an imminent recovery of the markets are not in sight”. The sector is affected, the Swedish household appliances group Electrolux having announced last Friday that it had tripled its loss in 2023 against a backdrop of low consumer confidence.