The Ship Power business of Wärtsilä Corporation will today initiate formal process to realign its organisation and resources to adjust to the substantially weakened global marine market situation. Negotiations will affect all of Wärtsilä Ship Power’s personnel in all functions globally. The number of jobs to be reduced is 400-450, of which approximately 80 are in Finland.
In taking these measures, Wärtsilä is looking for annual savings of approximately EUR 30 million. The effect of the savings will start to materialize gradually from the second part of 2009, and will take full effect by the end of 2010. Wärtsilä reiterates its prospects for 2009.
”The situation in the shipping industry has changed dramatically during the past six months, and we have taken all possible measures to avoid job cuts,” says Jaakko Eskola, Group Vice President, Ship Power.
”As the market outlook continues to be very challenging, we must find cost-saving measures that ensure the Ship Power organisation’s ability to maintain its competitiveness and efficiency, while at the same time, not jeopardizing customer commitments, ” Eskola continues.
Due to the global economic crisis, the shipping industry and shipbuilding markets have collapsed after a long period of high demand. In the period January-April 2009, the order intake of Ship Power plunged to EUR 135 million, a drop of 86% compared to the corresponding period a year earlier. There is overcapacity in all major vessel segments. In addition to lowered demand, there are risks related to delivery of existing orders as well as order postponements. Wärtsilä sees a potential risk of Ship Power order cancellations amounting to approximately EUR 1,000 million. During the period January-April 2009, cancellations of EUR 75 million materialised and were deducted from the order book.
Through the personnel negotiations, Wärtsilä aims to adjust its Ship Power business to respond to the needs of its customer segments. The effect of these adjustments on different personnel groups will be specified as the negotiations proceed.
Wärtsilä Ship Power has approximately 1300 employees, with the main disciplines being sales, project management, engineering services and ship design. Wärtsilä Ship Power has operations in some 30 countries.
For further information, please contact:
Mr Jaakko Eskola
Group Vice President
Wärtsilä Ship Power
Tel: +358-107095626
Mr Atte Palomäki
Group Vice President, Communications & Branding
Wärtsilä Corporation
Tel: +358-107095599
For investor information, please contact:
Mr Raimo Lind
Group Vice President, CFO
Wärtsilä Corporation
Tel: +358-107095640
Ms Josephine Mickwitz
Director, Investor Relations
Wärtsilä Corporation
Tel: +358-400784889
Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers.
In 2008, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 4.6 billion with 19,000 employees. The company has operations in 160 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
