Uniper Plans to Reduce Workforce by 400 Amid Market Challenges
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -German state-owned utility Uniper on Thursday said it was planning to cut 400 jobs, or around 5% of its staff, citing a challenging energy market environment that includes falling wholesale power prices.
Citing "challenging market developments and regulatory delays", Uniper also said it would look for other ways to cut costs to safeguard its profitability.
Newspaper Rheinische Post earlier reported the job cuts.
Shares in the company were down 1% following the news.
Uniper's works council chief said he expected even more job cuts to come.
"Four hundred jobs are just the beginning, more are to be cut," Harald Seegatz told Reuters.
Employee representatives will scrutinise the planned layoffs and lobby for socially responsible measures, Seegatz said.
"However, it is understandable that the delay in the power plant strategy and the fall in electricity prices make adjustments necessary in order to keep the company financially healthy," he added.
(Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff and Christoph Steitz, Editing by Friederike Heine and Madeline Chambers)
