Meeting of the Basque Government this Thursday with those responsible for Siemens Energy. /
Economy
Managers of the German multinational meet for the first time the faces with the Basque Executive in an appointment in which they did not mention job cuts
The first face-to-face meeting between the new directors of Siemens Energy and the Basque Government, also held in Bilbao, does not clear the future or the uncertainties of the Basque workers of Siemens Gamesa, but at least it served to reduce the tension of the last few days . And it is that the messages transmitted by the CEO of the multinational, Christian Bruch, to the Basque Minister of Economic Development, Arantxa Tapia, seek to reassure some employees who do not know what to expect after the takeover bid announced a few days ago by Siemens Energy on the Siemens Gamesa company, a manufacturer of wind turbines and wind energy drivers in Spain.
“He told us at the meeting that the workers are not the problem,” Tapia explained at the exit. “The messages transmitted have been direct and frank,” he completed. The meeting, in which the Deputy Minister of Industry, Mikel Amundarain, was also present, was held in a good tone and although the Basque Government avoids words such as “optimism”, at least they acknowledge that at the meeting those responsible for Siemens Energy did not put on the table there is no intention of adopting traumatic measures on employment, waiting for the new heads of the German firm to detail their plans for the different Basque factories, such as the Asteasu factory in Gipuzkoa, with two hundred workers, for a total of one thousand throughout the Basque Autonomous Community. Siemens Energy limits itself to pointing out that it will work for the “financial stability” of the multinational and to improve its management.
The counselor wanted to hear from the CEO of the multinational, Christian Bruch, that the firm’s jobs in the community were not in danger and, a priori, that is the message received. Tapia stressed that in the cordial, hour-and-a-half meeting, “it has become clear” that the workers are not the problem in the multinational’s stabilization process and asked Bruch, who attended with the head of Communications, Robin Zimmermann, transparency during the company’s management improvement process. «Their will is to do it this way, because that is how they also do it in Germany and the Basque Government has transmitted to them the capacities of the Euskadi ecosystem and the willingness to collaborate. They have insisted that the main focus of action is to stabilize the company and that the workers are not the problem.
The counselor explained after the conversations that it was a cordial meeting: «The messages transmitted have been direct and frank. They have explained that it is important to stabilize the company after the losses it has been suffering, in order to take on and work in a new market that is full of opportunities». And in that sense, the company has conveyed to them that, in this improvement in the company’s management, “the workers are not the main problem they have.” For this reason, from the Basque Government, they were told that the transmission of information and transparency towards their workers is “very important”.
Tapia heard “direct and frank messages” about his intention to address “financial stability”
The workers of the firm are still waiting for the next news of the company’s adjustment plan after the takeover bid confirmed a few days ago, which aims to stabilize the company after registering more than 2,300 million euros in losses in the last two years.
The 27,000 workers of the company throughout Spain have recently received a letter from the CEO of Siemens Gamesa, Jochen Eickholt, in which he officially presented the takeover bid for Siemens Energy and tried to clear up any rumours. Eickholt has asked them to “work and not be distracted by rumors.”
Meeting with unions
On the other hand, representatives of CC OO, UGT and ELA in Siemens Gamesa throughout the State will meet on June 15 in Madrid with the CEO of the company, Jochen Eickholt, after the announcement of the takeover bid for the company by Siemens Energy . The centrals will demand “employment guarantees”.