The sale of Bosch solar: chance to save jobs

Bosch intends to relocate the manufacture of an automotive electronic product from the Bosch location in Hatvan, Hungary, to Arnstadt, as well as to set up a service organization and a trading company for handling existing obligations. Over the medium term, this may preserve roughly 250 further jobs. The realization of the entire concept is subject, among other things, to approval by the antitrust authorities. The parties have agreed not to disclose any of the conditions of the agreement. In the weeks ahead, Bosch and the investors still have to conclude extensive preliminary work. This includes the necessary negotiations with the employee representatives. “This makes it likely that we can offer jobs to roughly 1,100 of our presently 1,500 associates in Arnstadt. The negotiation process was a lengthy one. But if the deals are put into practice as planned, it will allow us to give a great majority of associates a perspective. We have invested a lot of time and considerable sums of money in making this possible,” says Dr. Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH. “Instead of closure, our aim was to find purchasers with a viable industrial concept and a good reputation, and that take a long-term view that offers prospects for the future,” Denner says. Further negotiations Attempts are being made to find comparable solutions for the module factory in Vénissieux, France. Bosch is holding talks with investors from the photovoltaics industry as well as other industries. Here too, Bosch is examining the possibility of manufacturing a product from a different division at the location in the future. As already announced at the beginning of October 2013, the search continues for a buyer for the stake Bosch holds in its subsidiary aleo solar AG, based in Oldenburg and Prenzlau, Germany. It is also working with the directors of aleo to examine all the options available. These include the complete or partial sale of the operative business of the aleo solar group. Whether and when a transaction will come to a successful conclusion remains to be seen.