Telford firm warns of possible job losses following a £3.4bn buyout deal
Schneider Electric, which has a major base in Telford, today warned of possible job losses following its £3.4 billion buyout of a rival firm.
The deal, which must be approved by shareholders, will bring together 16,000 employees at Invensys and Schneider's 140,000 staff, including a combined UK workforce of more than 4,600.
At present, Schneider employs 3,500 people in Britain, including at its base on Telford's Stafford Park Industrial Estate, where it has a product showroom plus finance logistics and customer services departments.
But Schneider has revealed plans for cost savings of about 140 million euros (£122 million) a year, which could be partially met through job cuts. It said there was potential to cut costs in corporate and support functions where there is overlap with Invensys, while it also signalled plans to offload non-core divisions within Invensys, including putting its appliance arm under review.
However, a bright spot also arose for employees as Schneider outlined plans for a £4 million retention bonus pool for corporate staff, worth up to 150 per cent of salary to encourage staff to stay with the group following the takeover.
Senior staff, excluding board executives, will also pick up special awards worth up to 200 per cent of salary over a three-year period, while Schneider added it was looking at an additional retention bonus scheme for the wider workforce.
Invensys employs more than 1,100 people in the UK and has offices in Worthing and Crawley in West Sussex, as well as sites across the United States. It develops technologies for a wide range of sectors including oil refineries, air conditioning and household appliances.
Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chairman and chief executive of Schneider, said it was an "exciting day" for both companies. "We warmly welcome Invensys's team," he said.
