Missing orders from Russia: Linde division plans massive job cuts

Because of the sanctions against Russia, Linde's plant engineering department is losing billions in orders.

Missing orders from Russia: Linde division plans massive job cuts

Because of the sanctions against Russia, Linde's plant engineering department is losing billions in orders. The result: the location in Pullach is no longer fully utilized. The workforce must tremble. According to insiders, every fourth job is at risk.

There is a risk of job cuts in Linde's plant construction division after the withdrawal from Russia. As a result of the sanctions against Vladimir Putin's government, the American-German group lost lucrative large-scale orders for gas liquefaction and processing plants, primarily from the state-owned Gazprom company.

The board member responsible for the business, Jürgen Nowicki, spoke at a works meeting via video conference about "necessary structural measures at the Pullach site" and drastic staff reductions, as can be seen from a letter from the works council to the workforce, which Reuters has available. With the orders from Russia, the site just outside of Munich would have been busy for years.

Several company insiders said the plan is to cut 400 to 500 jobs. A spokesman declined to comment. Linde employs a good 2,000 people in plant engineering in Pullach. Orders from Russia accounted for two-thirds of the division's order backlog.

According to Nowicki, the board assumes that a third is irretrievably lost. The IG Metall union puts a question mark behind it: "We are convinced that this is just a vale of tears that should be over after two to three years," said Linde representative of IG Metall, Daniele Frijia, on Friday Reuters. "The Pullach location must be preserved in its breadth and depth."

Works council chief Hans-Peter Kaballo said that Linde was pushing for the fastest possible downsizing. "But this is the completely wrong way, a helpless attempt." Linde is threatened with a loss of know-how, while the personnel costs are only a fraction of the total costs. Linde is better positioned than any other plant manufacturer to switch from gas to hydrogen as an energy source. The business is profitable, but without Russia it will not bring the required return on sales. "It will stay that way for another three to four years. That makes management nervous." The works council wants to show alternatives to job cuts.

The Linde share temporarily gained 2.33 percent to EUR 274.55 after hours on the Tradegate trading platform.