June 30, 2011 | by Lonza Ltd
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June 30, 2011, As of 1 July 2011 and effective for the next 18 months, Lonza Visp in-creases the weekly working hours from an average of 41 to 43 hours for all employees at the Visp site. The site management team took this measure as the profit at the Visp site comes under pressure. The decreasing profitability of the Lonza Visp site is driven by three main factors: the massive strength of the Swiss franc, an aggressive pricing policy of competitors and increasing raw material and energy costs. For the year 2011, Lonza is expecting a negative currency effect of about CHF 60 to 70 million, which strongly impacts Lonza Visp. This pressure is expected to continue through the short and mid-term.
We expect this temporary worktime increase to partially offset the challenges at Visp. With this measure, we believe high plant utilization can be managed without additional staff, thereby avoiding further cost increases. The temporary worktime increase provides the nec-essary flexibility for further optimizations and strategic directions. In the next 18 months we will continue to work on changes, effective in the mid- and longterm. This includes a sub-stantial increase of productivity, further optimization of the unique “Verbund” system at the Visp site, optimization of the product portfolio, an expansion of the technology offering and introduction of new product platforms and services.
“We have a high utilization and the plants are working at full capacity, but our profitability is troubled due to the negative exchange rate which increasingly diminishes revenue”, said Stephane Mischler, Site Manager Visp. “We are convinced that the Lonza employees in Visp will support the temporary working hour increase to meet this challenge and are willing to make additional, personal contribution to secure the future of the site. The immediate in-crease of the site’s attractiveness is crucial for future investment decisions and thus also for Lonza’s prosperity in Visp.”
Contact
Lonza Ltd Visp Communications Sonja Mutter Tel +41 27 948 55 75 Fax +41 27 947 55 75 Mobile +41 78 629 20 62 sonja.mutter@lonza.com
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Conclusion of this article: « Lonza: Temporary 43 hour work week instituted to ensure long-term strengthening of Visp site »
Source: Lonza Ltd, Press release