Andritz to cut 500 further jobs, pins hopes on hydro boom

By Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich

July 2 (Reuters) - Austrian industrial equipment maker Andritz is cutting around 500 further jobs this year at its German unit Schuler due to weak demand from the automotive industry, chief executive Joachim Schoenbeck told Reuters in an interview.

Additional restructuring is required "particularly at Schuler and in Germany", where non-core areas such as toolmaking are expected to be discontinued, Schoenbeck said, despite the subsidiary's increasing profitability.

"We're simply not where we'd like to be – and where, if we listen to our shareholders, we need to be at the very least," he said.

Andritz, which supplies the struggling automotive industry with equipment for metal forming and battery production, has cut more than 2,000 jobs over the past five years as part of a restructuring programme aimed at increasing profitability.

Schoenbeck is hoping for an improved market environment towards the end of this year or early 2027.

In the long term, he believes Europe will adopt electric mobility once the price of vehicles comes down and range issues are resolved. But instead of government purchase subsidies, Schoenbeck called for lower electricity prices, less bureaucracy and greater trust in market forces.

BOOM IN HYDROPOWER BUSINESS

The Austrian company, which also supplies the pulp, paper and metal industries, hydroelectric power stations and clean energy, is anticipating that its hydropower segment will record the strongest growth, driven by rising electricity demand as the building of data centres continues.

Transitioning to renewable energy sources and decarbonising the economy is a trend "where the path is not always straight" but which is irreversible, Schoenbeck said. He also sees growth in the pulp and paper industry, in which the "green potential" is yet to fully emerge.

"The rampant protectionism that is currently being fuelled by all countries poses the greatest risk to our business model," the chief executive said.

(Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich, writing by Danny Callaghan; editing by Linda Pasquini and Kevin Liffey)