In response to persistently difficult conditions in the European markets, Alpiq has cut back its business activities considerably over the past two years through closures and divestments amounting to CHF 1.6 billion. As already communicated in December 2013, the next step is to achieve a sustained annual operating cost reduction.
This reduction in costs is a consequence of the downsized business portfolio on the one hand, and on the other hand addresses the historical growth of the organisation’s complexity. A substantial part of the cost savings will be achieved by further simplification of processes and systems.
As a result of these simplifications, Alpiq plans to decrease the size of its organisation by around 200 FTEs, two thirds of which will be in Switzerland and one third abroad. The majority of the planned job losses will come from natural turnover. In Switzerland, consultations with the employee representative council have begun.