General Electric Switzerland has already slashed some 2,000 posts since 2016. (© Keystone / Urs Flueeler)
United States engineering giant General Electric has revealed it will cut a further 450 jobs at two of its Swiss sites. Since 2016, the company has already shed some 2,000 workers.
The company, which generated profits of $954 million (CHF952 million) last year, blamed the latest cuts on “financially challenging conditions”. But its GE Power division reported an operating loss of nearly $1 billion globally.
The two plants outside Zurich do business in the gas-fired power plants sector. “Demand for power generation from fossil fuels is declining, especially in Europe, in a competitive market,” General Electric said in a statement on Monday.
The job cuts are still subject to consultation with trade unions and the Swiss authorities. The company says that 10% of the posts to be cut are currently unfilled.
In 2016, General Electric Switzerland slashed some 900 jobs following the acquisition of the energy division of the French industrial group Alstom.
The following December the company reduced its then-4,500 headcount further with an announcement to cut a maximum of 1,200 positions. That number was reduced from an original intention for 1,400 lay-offs after unions intervened.
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