Preparations underway

Because of KTM: AMS Upper Austria asks Lower Austria for help

Due to reduced budgets, the Public Employment Service has also had to cut costs in recent months - now the forces are being pooled.(Bild: Karl Schöndorfer)

The planned interim financing did not materialize, so it was clear on Tuesday: KTM AG and two other companies of the motorcycle manufacturer from Mattighofen (Upper Austria) had to file for insolvency today, Friday. The Public Employment Service is joining forces and even asked for help in Lower Austria.

"There is close coordination between the Public Employment Service, the Chamber of Labor and the province of Upper Austria to ensure that all steps are taken to support the employees," announced Upper Austria's Economic Councillor Markus Achleitner on Tuesday - just a few hours after the planned insolvency filing at KTM AG and two other companies of the motorcycle manufacturer became known.

Production at a standstill in January and February
According to the company from Mattighofen, 3650 employees are affected by the application for restructuring with self-administration, which is to be submitted to the regional court in Ried im Innkreis. KTM itself is planning to cut 300 jobs in production and will even shut down production completely in January and February 2025. It remains to be seen how many administrative employees will have to go. Cuts were already announced here on November 12, but have not yet been specified.

In the course of the insolvency proceedings, in which the management around Stefan Pierer and Gottfried Neumeister will continue to run the business, it will become clear whether the measures already announced will be implemented or whether even more employees will have to go. The financial difficulties at KTM also have consequences for many suppliers: Insolvencies are also likely to occur here, and hardly any company will be able to do without job losses anyway.

Our top priority is to secure people's livelihoods so that they know what they will have at their disposal each month in the future, at least during the period of unemployment. That is our top priority now.

Iris Schmidt, Geschäftsführerin des Arbeitsmarktservice

The Upper Austrian Public Employment Service has already begun to prepare for the increasing number of new unemployed people. "We are gearing up," says Managing Director Iris Schmidt.

Employees are being asked how much overtime they can work and who can also work on Saturdays. We also clarify who can also work temporarily in the Braunau region, to which KTM belongs, in order to record the unemployment applications. "Calculating the applications is then no longer tied to a specific location," says Schmidt, who has already asked for help from the Lower Austrian Public Employment Service.