Elevator company Schindler to cut 120 Swiss jobs
On Tuesday, the Swiss company announced that it will downsizing its factory staff at Ebikon in canton Lucerne. It is likely that the jobs will outsourced overseas.
The company said that the strong growth in the Asian market and high production costs in Switzerland prompted the move. More and more orders are being processed abroad, according to Schindler, which meant that the workers were not being utilized to full capacity.
The Ebikon factory employs 200 workers to manufacture lift components for the global market. Schindler proposes streamlining production in Ebikon and making it the global centre for special designs instead.
The job cuts are expected to take effect by the end of 2017. The company plans to achieve some of the downsizing through internal transfers and early retirement but stated that redundancies cannot be excluded. Consultations with workers representatives has been initiated.
Schindler Holding Ltd. with almost 3,000 employees and based in Hergiswil will not be affected by these developments.
Union Unia condemned the restructuring and demanded that the company stop relocating jobs abroad. It denounced the constant loss of expertise. The Swiss Employees Association expressed regrets on the move and warned that a strong base must remain in Switzerland in preparation for Industry 4.0.
Schindler manufactures, installs, services, and upgrades elevators, escalators, and moving walkways. In 2015, the Schindler Group generated revenue of almost CHF 9.4 billion ($9.4 billion) and has 56,000 employees in more than 100 countries.
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