Austrian-based auto electronics manufacturer Hirschmann Automotive is planning to lay off 120 employees from their plant in Rankweil - Brederis (Austria) and relocate some of the production lines to the Czech Republic and Romania, according to CEO Volker Buth. The 120 employees will be laid off gradually and receive severance.
"The restructuring is a necessary step for both the future safety of the remaining jobs and the future of Hirschmann Automotive," Buth said, adding that the company was planning to invest some 17 million EUR to upgrade the plant. Some of the production lines in Rankweil will be moved to the Hirschmann plant in Vsetin (the Czech Republic) and some to the Hirschmann plant in Targu Mures (Romania), which is slated for commissioning in the next few weeks.
According to Buth, the increase in productivity on the market for auto industry components requires cost cuts by relocation of production from the high cost areas such as Vorarlberg, Austria. Hirschmann Automotive currently employs some 1,400 employees in Austria, the Czech Republic and Romania. The Y2006 turnover was 93.23 million EUR. The company is controlled by brothers Franz and Roman Rauch.