Leoni to cut 1,100 jobs at car wiring systems division

[BERLIN] Germany's Leoni will cut about 1,100 jobs this year at its division that makes cable harnesses and wiring systems for the auto industry and expects the retrenchments to boost annual earnings from 2017, it said.

Streamlining the division, which generates about 60 per cent of company revenue, will marginally improve results this year before leading to a "sustained increase in profitability", starting in 2017, Nuremberg-based Leoni said on Thursday.

A year ago, Leoni was grappling with a glut of orders at the onboard power supply division and hired thousands of workers on generous paychecks at a plant in Romania. Profit has been falling since, forcing the company to press ahead with cost-savings measures.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) may increase by about 30 million euros (US$33 million) per year as a result of the reorganisation, it said.

A spokesman told Reuters that job cuts in countries such as Germany, France, Britain, the United States and South Korea will add costs of about 25 million euros this year.

REUTERS