Metal and technical industry Voestalpine steel group closes plant in Germany

Due to falling demand from the automotive industry, the Austrian steel group Voestalpine is closing a plant in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Around 220 employees at the Birkenfeld site are affected by the move, as the company announced. Voestalpine also announced possible personnel cuts of a similar magnitude in Dettingen in Baden-Württemberg.

These steps are part of a reorganization of Voestalpine's five vehicle parts locations in Germany with a total of around 2,000 jobs. The four remaining plants should "concentrate on selected core technologies", it was said.

Birkenfeld manufactures ready-to-install steel and aluminum parts for car production. The plant generated sales of around 50 million euros in the 2023/24 financial year, but according to the Group, the bottom line has been negative in recent years.

Profit warning

In future, the plant in Dettingen in Baden-Württemberg will primarily produce assemblies for car manufacturers. Metal parts and safety components for vehicles are currently also produced there. According to Voestalpine, a third of the 650 employees could be affected by this step. The company has announced talks with IG Metall and works councils on socially acceptable solutions in Birkenfeld and Dettingen.

On Monday, Voestalpine lowered its forecast for annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization from EUR 1.7 billion to EUR 1.4 billion. The reasons given included the costs of the reorganization in Germany and the devaluation of the German subsidiary Buderus Edelstahl in Wetzlar, which the Group intends to sell.

SDA