Uniper spells out progress on job-cutting program

Reuters/22 November 2017

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German energy group Uniper (UN01.DE), which is trying to fend off a takeover bid, has already cut more than two thirds of the 2,000 jobs it was planning to shed by 2018, its chief financial officer said.

CFO Christopher Delbrueck gave details of progress after regional newspaper Rheinische Post earlier reported the figure of 2,000 job losses. The group has agreed the cuts with labor bosses via natural attrition, semi-retirement and severance packages.

“One thousand four hundred of those positions are already not filled today any more,” Delbrueck said, adding that agreements had also been made for the 600 remaining jobs.

Most of the cuts will be made in Germany, the group said.

Uniper, the power plant and energy trading unit spun off by German utility E.ON (EONGn.DE), said last year it planned to save 400 million euros ($470 million) by the end of 2018 compared to 2015 by cutting jobs and spending as it fights a crisis at its generation business.

The company, which on Tuesday rejected a 8.05 billion euro takeover bid from Finnish peer Fortum (FORTUM.HE), had not previously said how many jobs would go.

Uniper now has about 13,300 employees, of whom 4,700 are in Germany. ($1 = 0.8512 euros)

News Source: Reuters