German utility E.ON plans to cut nearly one in eight jobs world-wide, partly in response to Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to phase out nuclear power by 2022, a German newspaper reported on Saturday. As many as 10,000 of the utility's 85,600 employees could be eliminated according to an article published in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
Roughly a third of the cuts could come in Germany, it said. A spokesman for E.ON declined to comment on the report, reiterating only that changes were in store. "In view of the different environment, E.ON is currently examining adjustments in the strategy and positioning of the company," he said. "No decisions have yet been made." E.ON's top labour leader, Hans Pruefer, said on Friday that management was planning a deep overhaul of its group structure in Germany.
According to Pruefer, the plans included a reorganisation of the E.ON Ruhrgas unit, the power plant unit E.ON Kraftwerke and the E.ON Energie distribution unit - all based in Germany. "I am shocked and disappointed," Pruefer told Reuters on Saturday. "Management must provide clarity by putting its plans on the table." The utility group's supervisory board is scheduled to meet on Monday and Tuesday, sources close to the board told Reuters, before it publishes quarterly results on August 10. Germany's parliament passed Merkel's draft legislation early last month that foresees a phased exit from generating nuclear power on German soil by 2022.