Wärtsilä Negotiates Restructuring in the Netherlands
Wärtsilä will outsource manufacturing of engine components in Zwolle, the Netherlands, selling its production capacity to an outside supplier. At the same time Wärtsilä has decided to further develop its service activities at Zwolle. The solution, which is still subject to approval by the personnel, will make it possible to retain about 290 jobs in Zwolle. Wärtsilä announced in November 2001 that it planned to terminate its operations in Zwolle and to move engine manufacturing to Italy. Wärtsilä also proposed to relocate its service activities to the service unit in Schiedam. Wärtsilä Nederland has altogether 810 employees: 660 in Zwolle and 150 in Schiedam. Wärtsilä entered a EUR 90 million provision in its 2001 accounts to cover the costs of these restructuring measures.The solution now reached will create roughly 65 jobs in a separate company that will continue to operate in the current Wärtsilä facilities in Zwolle. Furthermore, Wärtsilä has decided to develop its maintenance and repair services in Zwolle and continue its local sales activities, which will provide jobs for about another 210 employees in this area. Engine design and assembly will be relocated, as originally planned, to the Trieste factory in Italy. Discussions will be held in the next few weeks with personnel on the details of the proposed solution and its impacts, but representatives of the various personnel groups have already indicated their support for the solution.