Mahle will cut more than 600 jobs in Šempeter

In the Šempeter-based company Mahle, they plan to cut 340 jobs next year due to production optimization, and 270 due to the relocation of e-compressor production to Hungary and BiH. The measure is attributed to weak demand in the automotive market in Europe. The company announces consultations with employee representatives. This is the second series of layoffs this year; in the spring, they already reduced the number of employees by 170. At that time, they moved the production of starters to Aleksandrovac.

With electrification as a key strategic pillar of the German group Mahle, the company explains that they are maintaining full momentum in developing high-performance and innovative products in this technological field. They are also continuing with the sustainable transformation of Mahle Electric Drives Slovenia towards the production of products for the needs of electrification in the automotive industry.

They are currently experiencing a decline in practically all markets where they operate - the automotive market, the electric bicycle market, off-road mobile machinery, and other segments, said the director of Mahle Electric Drives Slovenia Guntram Haas. According to unofficial data, twice as many jobs are indirectly threatened as will be directly laid off due to the relocation.

Mahle must adapt

"Based on these facts, we must plan our business at Mahle Electric Drives Slovenia for the near future in such a way that we strengthen our competitiveness, especially since the Mahle factory in Šempeter is of central importance for future growth in the field of electrification," the director was also quoted in the press release.

PHOTO: Letrika Press Release

As Haas added, they are striving to find socially acceptable solutions for those employees who will be affected by these measures. "We will now approach the consultation process with employee representatives," he added.

Šempeter pri Gorici is the largest of the five locations of the Mahle group in Slovenia. The company, which was renamed from the former Letrika after it came under German ownership, employs more than 2000 people in Slovenia. They have branches in Bovec, Komen, and Maribor.

With around 1700 employees, Šempeter is the central development and production center for electric drive systems and mechatronics, which are used in hybrid and electric vehicles and electric bicycles. In recent years, Mahle in Šempeter has also started the production of electric motors for new vehicles and electric bicycles. The Slovenian branch of Mahle is owned by the German multinational, which came to Slovenia by purchasing Letrika.

The automotive industry is under pressure, and Slovenian suppliers are also suffering. Among others, the Maribor company MLM went bankrupt.

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