RUAG to reorganise in Austria, Sweden and Switzerland

RUAG International’s Space business is currently being reorganised as part of a project called Ambition 21. It is a response to a changing market environment and an "unsatisfactory performance in 2020", a press release states. “RUAG Space is a powerhouse that has contributed to countless successful missions. We want to bring our world-class expertise to the next level. Therefore, we are going to simplify our way of working and set the course to boost innovation, agility, and global collaboration across RUAG Space’s 12 sites in 6 different countries”, says Luis De León Chardel, Executive Vice President ad interim of RUAG Space. Due to a drop in profitability resulting from delays in various space programs that have been further exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, RUAG Space must accelerate the development towards a leaner organisation and reduce overlapping resources. Therefore, the company will reduce up to 100 of today's approximately 1300 positions across its sites in Austria, Sweden and Switzerland as part of the reorganization until the end of 2021. It is not yet clear how many people will be affected by the reductions, as a proportion of the cuts will be achieved through natural turnover and retirements. Wherever possible, connection opportunities inside and outside of the RUAG Group will be sought for those affected. In Switzerland, the company’s social plan applies for any redundancies. An internal process is currently underway to define the specific impacts per country. As required by local custom and legislation, we will involve works councils, employee representatives and unions in the countries in this process to find appropriate solutions for the affected positions.