MÜNCHEN/PREMSTÄTTEN (dpa-AFX) - The German-Austrian lighting group AMS Osram plans to cut jobs worldwide. Several hundred positions will be eliminated at locations in Germany, the company announced. In total, 2,000 jobs are affected, with approximately 1,000 each in Europe and Asia – though some of these measures are already known. At the same time, AMS Osram released figures this morning that indicate a clear upward trend: losses are decreasing. The market responded positively, with the Swiss-listed stock rising by 6.6 percent in early trading.

The main focus of the job cuts in Europe is Germany. In the semiconductor business in Regensburg, a low to mid three-digit number of jobs will be cut, according to AMS Osram CEO Aldo Kamper. The cuts mainly affect established products also offered by Asian competitors. For cost reasons, production of these products is being relocated to Asia. However, this will create space in Regensburg for highly automated manufacturing.

Lamp Business Shrinking

Additional jobs will be cut in the lamp business, particularly at the Herbrechtingen site in Baden-Württemberg and Schwabmünchen near Augsburg. The closure in Schwabmünchen has been known for some time, but AMS Osram is including it in the current figures. The IG Metall union recently put the number of jobs being cut there at 270. The business with traditional halogen lamps for cars is slowly shrinking as these products are gradually being replaced by LEDs. However, Kamper emphasized that this business will continue for many years.

Around 1,000 jobs will also be cut at Asian sites. Currently, AMS Osram employs about 19,000 people worldwide, with 7,500 in Europe and 10,700 in Asia. Kamper described the job cuts as an important but painful step to improve competitiveness.

Upward Trend in Financials

The financial situation at AMS Osram is improving, as shown by the business figures also released. In the past year, the company posted a net loss of 129 million euros – one-sixth of the previous year's figure. The operational side, in particular, performed much better. However, the group is still struggling with high debt. Part of this was recently addressed by selling a business unit to Infineon a few days ago./ruc/DP/nas