The Carbon Company has announced the details of the organisational restructuring, which is one part of the cost savings programme SGL2015.

The restructuring focuses on streamlining the management structures and the corporate and support functions. The global P/L responsibility of the Business Units will be strengthened further. The planned restructuring will affect up to 300 positions group-wide, with approximately half of them in Germany.

Dr Jürgen Köhler, designated CEO, SGL Group said: “With this set of comprehensive measures we will make SGL Group more efficient and stronger, and strategically position the company for the future. It is our top priority to implement the defined measures in order to generate the planned €150 million in cost savings by end of 2015.”

Cost savings

Indirect spend in the fields of sales, general and administration (SG&A) are expected to be reduced by one third, from €90 million in 2012 to €60 million in 2015 as part of the restructuring.

Overall, the SGL2015 cost savings programme is designed to achieve a total of €150 million cost savings by the end of 2015, thereof €50 million already realised in 2013.

Strengthening Business Units

A set of measures have been developed to adjust the organisation in order to simplify and increase the efficiency of management structures and processes.

The Board will be reduced from five to three members in the context of the generation change. The number of direct reports to the Board of Management will be reduced by almost half to around 20 positions. The Business Units will be given further global P/L responsibility, and the support functions within the Business Units will be streamlined.

However, the Board will supervise the business activities on the basis of the three Business Areas which will continue to exist as reporting segments.

Socially responsible downsizing

The measures in connection with the organisational restructuring will affect up to 300 jobs across the Group, most of which are located in Europe (240) and about 150 in Germany alone. Another 37 jobs will be reduced in North America and 16 in Asia.

According to the company, every effort will be made to achieve the necessary downsizing in a socially responsible manner. The available exit options have been developed and agreed with the works council entities, it reports.

SGL2015

Apart from the organisational restructuring the programme consists of the optimisation of the global production network as well as the streamlining of the Group’s portfolio.

Through SGL2015, the Company addresses the challenging economic environment, which is characterised in particular by an unsatisfactory price development in graphite electrodes, a cyclical and structural downturn in graphite specialties and losses caused by delays in the development and start-up phases in the Business Area Carbon Fibres and Composites.

The objective of the programme is to sustainably strengthen SGL Group’s competitiveness while enhancing the profitability of the Group.

www.sglgroup.com