Anatol Sattel, chief sales officer of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, says that with business in the Euromap market at an "all-time low," the time has come for measures to be taken.
During an Oct. 16 news conference at Fakuma, Sattel, together with Martin Pütz, senior director technology, further elaborated on the news released by the company on Oct. 14, announcing plans to reduce staff and make structural changes in production at its German sites.
"Overcoming this crisis is a major challenge," Sattel said.
The new management team, consisting of himself, CEO Christian Maget and Chief Operating Officer Takaaki Kaneko, took over from outgoing CEO Gerd Liebig in July and have since found themselves in rough waters.
Despite the fact that inflation has come back down, interest rates are falling and energy prices have returned to pre-pandemic levels, Europe is still mired in an economic crisis — and has been for the past two years, Sattel said.
"Although we had hoped the situation would improve this year, there has been no recovery of investments in the plastics industry, and we don't see that happening next year, either."
The company's projected development of the Euromap market shows that it will remain well below the highs of 2020-21.
Without stating any specific figures, he said that this year's sales will be lower than the €640 million ($692 million) achieved last year.
The company sees no other alternative but to start taking a number of measures in response, including cutting more than 100 jobs at its sites in Schwaig and Wiehe, Germany.
By the start of 2025, the company will know more about the number of employees who will be leaving the company voluntarily. Only then will it be clear whether restructuring will be necessary, Sattel explained. The idea is to offer an early retirement package to the older employees, securing the jobs of the younger workers, even though this will mean the loss of valuable expertise and experience.
"Downsizing the workforce should hopefully allow us to emerge from this crisis by 2026, even if the market remains difficult," Sattel said. "We will also be better prepared for future crises, without having to rely on short-term work."