Deutsche Messe AG in Hanover wants to reduce the number of its employees from 730 to 480 in the coming years. The reason is financial losses due to the corona pandemic.
The job cuts by 2027 should take place in a socially acceptable manner through fluctuation and volunteer programs, the company announced on Wednesday after a board meeting. According to its own statements, the company is reacting to the serious drop in sales and earnings as a result of the Corona crisis. Above all, the cancellation of the world’s largest industrial show, the Hanover Fair, led to large losses of income in the spring. The company wants to focus even more on sales, new business and hybrid trade fair formats in the future.
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Further cuts planned
With the exception of the employee representatives, all members have approved the proposal of the board of directors to realign the company, it said. The use of short-time working is also planned in 2021, the reduction in weekly working hours in 2022, cuts in managers and the reduction of collective bargaining and above-standard benefits. According to the company, a minus of 103 million euros is expected for this year – with sales of 95 million euros. In 2019, sales were just under 350 million euros.
Management expects a long dry spell
“We are in the midst of the biggest crisis in the exhibition and event industry,” said CEO Jochen Köckler. Both the demand for trade fair participation and business travel will likely be below the pre-Corona level for years. “That is why we have to focus more on new trade fair formats and adapt our costs to the lower sales.”
Land promises a guarantee
Lower Saxony’s finance minister Reinhold Hilbers (CDU) called for a reduction in personnel costs at the beginning of the week. In return, he promised a guarantee from the state, with which the fair could more easily obtain new loans. The state holds around half of the shares in Messe AG.
