With training programs for 10,000 apprentices and university students, Siemens is one of Germany’s largest private educational institutions. This fall 2,300 school graduates will begin training at 40 different Siemens locations. Once again, all training positions at the company have been filled. “Qualified young people are our most important asset for the future. That’s why we’ve made the fostering of young talent a top priority. We’d be very pleased if even more young women would apply. They have long since proven that they can pursue a successful technical profession,” said Günther Hohlweg, head of Siemens’ training programs. For the third year in a row, the company has provided 250 training positions nationwide for disadvantaged young people. At 28, the number of trainees with severe handicaps is higher than ever.
The Siemens Festival Night wants to win youngsters for tomorrow’s opera public with its program on August 21, 2010 in Bayreuth. To attract the young, the public viewing event at the Volksfestplatz will first feature a children’s program. Prior to the live broadcast of The Valkyrie from the Festspielhaus at 4:00 p.m. for adults, the day will start off with the screening of the Wagner Festival premiere of Tannhäuser for Children. Following this playful version of the opera, budding young opera fans will enjoy a special series of activities related to what they have just seen. Drama instructor Ursula Gessat, working with the Siemens Stiftung, developed the Wagner experience concept and transformed it, with a team of helpers, into an imaginative program for children.
Siemens is helping victims of the catastrophic floods in Pakistan and is appealing for donations to aid people in the affected region. The company has pledged to match every euro that charitable Siemens employees donate by September 30, 2010 to a special account established at the Bank für Sozialwirtschaft in Germany. The aid collected in Germany will then be transferred to the German Red Cross (DRK). In addition, Siemens is also making €100,000 available for the use of mobile healthcare centers.
Siemens is participating in the development of two ecofriendly combined-cycle power plants – one in the German state of Brandenburg and the other in Hungary. The project has a total value of roughly €1.5 billion and will employ up to about 1,000 people in the Wustermark region of Brandenburg as well as in the Hungarian city of Szeged during the three-year construction period. Once in operation, each location will provide jobs for about 50 highly qualified personnel on a long-term basis.
Siemens AG and employee representatives have reached agreement on a reconciliation of interests regarding the workforce adjustments that have been announced for Siemens IT Solutions and Services (SIS). Under the agreement, a comprehensive package of voluntary measures will ensure that the reduction of 2,000 jobs in Germany is implemented in a socially responsible manner. The negotiated reconciliation of interests still requires approval by Siemens’ Central Works Council. This approval is expected next week.
Siemens is ending all reduced working-hour arrangements at its facilities in Germany. “The German government’s provision to extend funding for reduced working hour schemes helped us weather a difficult economic phase,” said Walter Huber, head of Human Resources for Germany. “The show of unity on the part of politicians, trade unions and the company enabled us to keep our employees’ expertise at the company. Now demand is on the rise again, and we’re ideally equipped in terms of personnel,” Huber continued.
Siemens increased both orders and revenue year-over-year in the third quarter of fiscal 2010 for the first time in more than a year. Orders of nearly €21 billion were up 22 percent compared to the prior-year quarter. Revenue rose slightly to just over €19 billion. The book-to-bill ratio – the ratio of orders to revenue – was therefore again above one. Orders and revenue both benefited from currency translation effects. Total Sectors profit climbed 40 percent year-over-year, to a record high of slightly over €2.3 billion. “Siemens gained further momentum in the third quarter,” said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher. “Such order growth last occurred in 2008. Strong demand took our order backlog to a record level. At the same time, Sectors profit reached its highest point ever, and will clearly exceed the level of the prior year.”
We released our third quarter results for fiscal 2010 on July 29, 2010. The conference call was broadcast live on the internet.
"Siemens gained further momentum in the third quarter,” said Siemens CEO Peter Löscher. “Such order growth last occurred in 2008. Strong demand took our order backlog to a record level. At the same time, Sectors profit reached its highest point ever, and will clearly exceed the level of the prior year.”