For long months, almost 3,000 workshop workers at Siemens Gamesa live in a state of uncertainty. And after announcing the "adjustments" along with the change of CEO of Joch Eickholt, it has only increased the situation of concern and uncertainty about the possibility of redundancies.
The company has suffered significant losses in recent years. According to multinational Siemens Energy, its owner, these losses have been due to the failure of some turbines it builds for offshore and onshore wind turbines.
However, the whole renewable sector, and especially the marine wind sector, is experiencing high ups and downs, as many of the projects have been affected by the increase in raw materials and other structural problems.
Siemens Energy itself agreed last November with the German Government and the banks a €15 billion rescue plan. But he also explained that he was going to do restructuring in compensation, which caused alarms among the workers who reported that they were facing a "financial engineering" operation.
With this "adjustment" announced, Siemens Gamesa intends to direct its European business towards terrestrial wind, in the hope that it will be more profitable. But globally, especially in investments in offshore projects, the multinational has the eye and expectations.
The company has workshops in Sarriguren (Navarra), Zamudio (Bizkaia), Asteasu (Gipuzkoa) and Arazuri (Navarra), among others. The CCOO and UGT trade unions have taken restructuring with "surprise", but, according to the News Journal, they have not received more information on how it will affect jobs.
The Minister of Industry of Navarra, Mikel Irujo, for his part, assured that in the Basque Country Irratia will defend "the last job". The Basque Government did not want to make any statement, but it has confirmed that Eickholt himself has already informed him of the changes on Tuesday.