KraussMaffei Chief Financial Officer Jörg Breme will leave the company at his own request on July 31, the Germany-based company announced July 8.
The machinery manufacturer has appointed Thomas Giese as an interim successor. Giese specializes on filling interim CFO roles for profit improvement and restructuring projects, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The announcement follows a management reshuffle at KraussMaffei at the beginning of 2024, when Breme was one of the few to keep his position. In January of 2023, Breme's contract was extended through 2025.
The series of management changes is the aftermath of a troubled few years for KraussMaffei. The company posted losses of 2.77 billion Chinese yuan ($380.68 million) in 2023, according to that year’s financial report. China National Chemical Corp. has owned KM since 2016.
In March 2023, the company announced the layoff of “several hundred” employees in Europe. The move was needed to shed expenses after the war in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions and transportation bottlenecks contributed to a loss of some $230 million in 2022, including a goodwill impairment of at least $108.6 million.
The 2023 financial report cites high inflation in Europe as one of the reasons for KraussMaffei's continuous losses. The company said it experienced significant increases in raw materials and energy costs as the European Central Bank kept increasing interest rates.
The first quarter of 2024 did not offer respite for the cash-strapped manufacturer, despite the sale of Netstal for $183 million in February. KraussMaffei posted losses of 327.4 million yuan ($45 million) in Q1 2024. It cited an overall market downturn, with European machinery orders falling by 22 percent in 2023, as one of the reasons for poor financial performance. Nonetheless, the company noted it signed new orders worth $277 million in the first quarter of 2024.