Industry in upheaval

Graz-based automotive giant AVL cuts 200 employees

A black day for the AVL employees in Graz.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Bad news reached the employees of AVL on Tuesday morning: 70 employees at the Graz site will be made redundant, 130 more will leave the company in the course of the year.

After two years of growth, AVL in Graz is now going public with some bad news: 70 employees are to lose their jobs in the coming months. The upheaval in the automotive industry is to blame. Energy, personnel, material and interest costs are presenting companies with real challenges, they say.

"We must now strengthen the company's earning power in order to provide the necessary funds for investments in the future. The economic conditions and strong international competition make this capacity adjustment necessary and create the necessary conditions for driving forward new technologies," says AVL Managing Director Helmut List.

A low point after two top years
In the previous year, the company achieved an increase of ten percent and a turnover of 2.05 billion euros. Further investments in new business areas outside the automotive industry are planned for the coming years. New research and development activities in the rail, shipping and energy sectors are on the agenda. Digitalization and the path towards climate neutrality are also core areas.

Nevertheless, 70 of a total of 4,300 employees at the Graz site will now have to leave. In total, a further 130 people will leave the company by 2024 due to retirements and other redundancies. This bad news reached all employees on Tuesday morning.