Siemens Cutting 200 Jobs at Texas Service Center

Siemens on December 11 said it would lay off about 200 workers at a gas turbines parts and components service center in Houston, Texas, sometime in late 2019 or early 2020. A company spokesperson made the announcement Tuesday, saying the cuts are due to weak global demand for the company's turbines.

Siemens in a statement said the decision was "difficult." The company, in a letter to the Texas Workforce Commission, also said the layoffs were partly due to overcapacity within the company's network.

Siemens in September said that it would cut 2,900 jobs in Germany to boost the competitiveness of its Power and Gas and Process Industries divisions. The company at the time said the cuts would save about $590 million.

Lisa Davis, member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG, in a statement at the time said, "The market for fossil power generation has contracted substantially. Against the backdrop of this structural change, the agreement we've reached [with the company's unions] is critical to improving our competitiveness." Davis said the cuts would occur over the next two years.

Siemens has cut thousands of jobs over the past few years due to a global downturn in turbine demand, pressure also felt by competitors General Electric and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems.

Reports earlier this year said Siemens would cut as many as 20,000 jobs as part of its "Vision 2020" strategy for the company, though the company has denied those reports. Siemens in August said it would combine its five industrial divisions into three operating companies as it continues to consolidate its corporate structure.

-Darrell Proctor is a POWER associate editor (@DarrellProctor1, @POWERmagazine).

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