Siemens, the German engineering group, may shut down one of its transportation-division plants in the Czech Republic with a loss of 1,000 jobs, sources said Saturday in Munich. They said the rolling-stock plant in Prague had been earmarked for sale or closure as part of a scheme to save German jobs during the current job-cutting drive at the Munich-based group.
Confirming a similar report in the newspaper Suedeutsche Zeitung, one source said, "The aim is to preserve the German sites." On its website, the Siemens Group says it is the second largest exporter in the Czech Republic and has a national workforce of 12,000, the seventh largest employer in the country.
At Siemens head office in Munich, a spokesman refused to confirm the report, but said, "We are still working out which factories will be affected by the job cutting. We want to begin negotiations with Labour as soon as possible."
The Sueddeutsche said closing the Prague site would mean the Siemens transportation division could keep all its sites in Germany with only limited lay-offs to meet targets. Siemens Group plans to reduce its workforce round the world by nearly 17,000. German trade unions have mounted fierce opposition. Major Siemens rail products include electric locomotives and mass- transit electric trains for cities.