HEERBRUGG, Switzerland, Oct. 31, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Leica Geosystems today announced that it would reduce its construction-related workforce by 72 positions. These redundancies are necessary due to the industry slow-down over the summer, compounded by the events of September 11, which have placed further pressure on the building and construction markets, and as a result of the future outsourcing of surface mounted devices.
The majority of the Company's construction-related surveying instruments are manufactured at its U.S. facility at Grand Rapids, Michigan. At this place 45 are being made redundant and 6 temporary contracts will not be continued. Another 12 people will receive a job offer close to their existing working place at Paragon, the company's new OEM production partner for surface mounted devices. Already nine employees have been released from the Company's Disto(tm) assembly workforce in Heerbrugg, Switzerland. The changes at the Heerbrugg facility were foreseen, following the Company's announcement at the end of August, that it would outsource production of future product generations to Flextronics Technologies GmbH, in Solothurn, Switzerland.
These redundancies, together with the implementation of other initiatives, are Leica Geosystems' reaction to the worsening of the situation in the construction markets. In a previous statement published on October 2, the Company confirmed its revised outlook and forecasts an increase in Full Year sales to over 800 million Swiss Francs (Previous Year: CHF 642m). The Company also reiterates its revised estimate of Full Year EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization) to be, in absolute terms, at the level of the previous year of approximately CHF100m. Following this reduction in its workforce, Leica Geosystems will have 2950 employees worldwide.
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