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The new Bosch boss
Stefan Hartung
announces significant
Investments for the company's own semiconductor production and for the retraining of the staff
Photo: Bernd Weissbrod / dpa
Regardless of the chip crisis, the Bosch technology group has overcome the corona low and expanded its business again.
As the automotive supplier announced on Wednesday in Gerlingen near Stuttgart, group sales rose last year by ten percent to 78.8 billion euros.
According to preliminary figures, operating profit climbed to 3.2 billion euros after 2 billion euros previously.
Bosch exceeded its own forecasts and made up for the dip in sales and earnings from the previous year, which was characterized by corona-related lockdowns and the auto crisis.
In addition to components for the automotive industry, Bosch also manufactures household appliances, power tools, and industrial and building technology.
The non-profit Robert Bosch Foundation owns 94 percent of the company.
The new Bosch boss
Stefan Hartung
(56) made it clear that the supply bottlenecks in semiconductors are far from over.
"This concerns us in all sectors, right down to consumer goods."
Normalization is not expected until 2023.
Rising prices for raw materials also raised concerns.
Another 400 million euros for in-house semiconductor production
Bosch is expanding its own semiconductor production in Dresden, Reutlingen and in Penang, Malaysia, and is investing around 400 million euros this year alone, said Hartung.
He also welcomed the new initiative by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to invest billions in strengthening the European chip industry.
According to the information, around one billion euros will flow into microelectronics and electromobility at Bosch in 2022.
In the current year, the group expects a further increase in sales, but does not quantify this.
Hartung made it clear that Bosch supports the EU's climate goals anchored in the so-called Green Deal "without ifs or buts".
With the Green Deal, the EU countries want to become climate-neutral by 2050.
"A large part of our business still consists of combustion systems for diesel and gasoline engines as well as for gas heaters," said Hartung.
But the business with alternatives is already up and running, and electromobility is already generating billions in sales.
The Swabians entered the equipment business for battery production last year.
"Together with Volkswagen, we are planning to industrialize the manufacturing processes for battery cells in the next few years," said Hartung.
The aim is to become a leading European provider.
In mid-January, manager magazin reported exclusively on the planned battery cell pact.
Bosch and the VW software subsidiary Cariad are also working together to develop self-driving cars.
Hartung, who moved to the top of the group at the turn of the year, said that in view of the changes in the automotive industry and in other areas, not all jobs at Bosch could remain as they were.
Personnel
manager Filiz Albrecht
explained that around 2,800 people had already switched to other positions within the group.
At the end of last year, the technology giant employed around 401,300 people worldwide, which was 6,700 more than a year earlier.
The number of employees in Germany remained stable at 131,400.
Bosch wants to restructure and train 80,000 employees
The foundation group wants to use one billion euros over the next five years to promote the retraining of employees.
That's how much Bosch has spent on qualifications in the past five years, and that's how much will be needed in the next five years, Albrecht explained at a press conference.
The approximately 80,000 employees who depend on combustion technology would have the greatest need for change.
By the middle of the next decade, most jobs in Europe will be lost in this area, while new ones will be created for electromobility or vehicle software.
"We are not only concentrating on dismantling," said Albrecht.
"Transformation also means developing and changing competencies."
rei/dpa-afx