Siemens to spin off its power and gas division, focus on digital and infrastructure

Siemens is planning to spin off its power and gas turbine division into a new company with a business volume of €30 billion and over 80,000 employees. Siemens will include its majority stake in Siemens Games Renewables in this company.

The future core of Siemens business will be Digital Industries and Smart Infrastructure. Siemens says the changes will bring in gains of €2.2 billion by 2023.

The Supervisory Board of Siemens AG unanimously approved the next steps in the company's Vision 2020+ strategy concept, including the spinoff of Siemens' Gas and Power (GP)."With Vision 2020+, we're further sharpening Siemens' focus and making our businesses faster and more flexible. These changes are laying the foundation for sustainable economic success in growth markets that will be attractive over the long term. We're also creating solid perspectives for those businesses that have to prove themselves in the structural transformation now underway and address new growth fields," said Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG.

"The success of Siemens' businesses of the next generation will be determined by new factors. Breadth, size and a 'one size fits all' approach will be replaced by focus, speed and adaptability. That's how we'll ensure sustainable success of our businesses in the age of the digital Fourth Industrial Revolution, in which these new factors are a crucial to compete," said Kaeser. The CEO emphasized that Siemens was setting the course for the future from a position of strength and was excellently positioned. In the growth markets of automation, industrial digitalization and smart infrastructure, Siemens wants to grow significantly and further expand its leading position.

The Supervisory Board unanimously supports the realignment measures. "It's the right thing to do; it's necessary and courageous to trigger the planned changes when the company is doing well. The Supervisory Board supports the Managing Board in the further implementation of the Vision 2020+ strategy concept under Joe Kaeser's leadership," said Jim Hagemann Snabe, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG.

The employee representatives on the Supervisory Board also approve the plan for GP and support the Vision 2020+ growth strategy. However, they also note that the Managing Board has a special responsibility for the treatment of the employees who are impacted by the structural change. Birgit Steinborn, the Chairwoman of the Central Works Council of Siemens AG, explained: "The employee representatives agree to the plan for GP and support management's growth strategy. We're now facing a fundamental transformation of the company. If the Managing Board is serious about the growth concept, we expect employee expertise to be retained at the company and developed or expanded with respect to digitalization. These objectives can be accomplished through reskilling measures and preferential consideration when people are hired for the new positions that have been announced. The agreed-upon Fund for the Future offers good opportunities for doing this. In addition, we assume that the Region Germany will also benefit from the Managing Board's investments and growth programs. We reject unimaginative job-cutting programs."

The employee representatives on the Supervisory Board also approve the plan for GP and support the Vision 2020+ growth strategy. However, they also note that the Managing Board has a special responsibility for the treatment of the employees who are impacted by the structural change. Birgit Steinborn, the Chairwoman of the Central Works Council of Siemens AG, explained: "The employee representatives agree to the plan for GP and support management's growth strategy. We're now facing a fundamental transformation of the company. If the Managing Board is serious about the growth concept, we expect employee expertise to be retained at the company and developed or expanded with respect to digitalization. These objectives can be accomplished through reskilling measures and preferential consideration when people are hired for the new positions that have been announced. The agreed-upon Fund for the Future offers good opportunities for doing this. In addition, we assume that the Region Germany will also benefit from the Managing Board's investments and growth programs. We reject unimaginative job-cutting programs."