Germany-based Kiefel announced it will cut around 100 jobs at its headquarters in Freilassing.
Earlier in November, the packaging machine manufacturer announced it would close its site in Micheldorf, Austria, which employs around 130 workers.
Kiefel said the consolidation and consequent job cuts are part of its "One Kiefel" statetegy which aims to "increase its innovative capacity and increase proximity to customers in all relevant markets."
The Micheldorf site focuses on specialized automation solutions for thermoforming and blow molding. Kiefel said it would exit the "volatile" special automation business to focus on standardized automation at its other European sites in Sprang-Capelle, Netherlands, and Freilassing. Existing orders will be fully completed at Micheldorf as the site progressively closes down and dismisses its 130 employees by end 2025 at the latest.
At Freilassing, around one quarter of job losses will come from retirements or expiration of fixed-term contracts. The restructuring will also involve changes to job profiles and organizational structures.
Kiefel said the site will focus on "all segments with great growth potential and a wide customer base, such as standard automation, to make better use of market opportunities and expand the product portfolio." Its new strategy is a response to a "challenging market situation in machine engineering and intensified global competition," the company said in a statement.
This September, Kiefel appointed Matthias Sieverding as its new CEO, replacing Thomas Halletz, who held the position for the past 30 years. Sieverding was previously president of the U.S. platform company of the Brückner Group, Kiefel’s parent company. Kiefel described the management change as a push to its "internationalization course."
“One Kiefel is our commitment and that of the Brückner Group to the successful future of our company, also in Freilassing,” Sieverding said. “We are aware that this transformation means a painful cut for some of our colleagues in Freilassing. It is our goal to make the downsizing as fair as possible. We are already in intense talks and are negotiating with the works committee.”
Kiefel said it believes the Freilassing site will continue to take a central role in its company network. It added that it plans to investment ‘millions’ in 2025 to strengthen the site, including establishing a polymer innovation center.
With the closure of the Austrian site and downsizing in Germany, Kiefel’s global footprint includes its site in the Netherlands, focused on tool manufacturing, the Brückner Group in the United States, and the Brückner Group in China.
Kiefel joins Evonik and Illig in cutting plastic manufacturing jobs in Germany. The country’s once-strong manufacturing basis has been heavily affected by high energy prices, a weakened economy, and global competition. Many notable German machinery manufacturers, including Arburg, are responding by internationalizing their operations.