German construction and machinery group Bauer is planning to cut its workforce by as much as 3 percent, its chief executive told a newspaper after the company warned it would post a loss this year. "We have to cut jobs, including in Germany," German weekly Welt am Sonntag cited CEO Thomas Bauer as saying in an excerpt of an article to be published on Sunday.
"In the end, we might be talking about 3 percent of employees worldwide." Last month Bauer slashed its 2013 outlook after unexpectedly booking a one-off charge related to a contract to build water wells in Jordan and warned it expected to breach covenants which could lead to creditors calling in 200 million euros ($270.5 million) worth of debt. CEO Bauer told Welt am Sonntag he was confident the company would return to profit next year, saying this year's loss was "just an accident". He also forecast 2014 sales growth of between 2 percent and 5 percent, a slowdown from growth rates of 8-10 percent in recent years. "We need a breather to work on some problems that have piled up," Bauer said.