Up to 90 German employees could lose their jobs in the restructuring of Ferromatik Milacron, the US company has said.
In March, parent company Milacron said it was planning redundancies at its Malterdingen plant in Germany, which makes injection moulding machines (PRW.com 8 March). The move is part of restructuring of its global mould technologies and European machinery technologies businesses, following losses in 2005.
In its first quarter results, Milacron said it has reached agreement with the union and works council at Malterdingen. “The works council is working with management to ensure the long-term success of this operation by making several concessions, including a reduction of up to 90 employees,” it said.
Milacron made a net loss of $9.6m (E7.6m) in the first quarter, similar to the loss in the same quarter of 2005. But sales were 5% higher at $202m (E160m).
It said demand in western Europe showed signs of improvement for injection moulding and blow moulding machinery, with first-quarter new orders rising 14% to $40m (E32m). Continued pricing pressure prevented its European business from recuperating cost increases, resulting in an operating loss of $2.4m (E1.9m) compared to a loss of $2.2m (E1.7m) a year ago.
