Europe’s largest software manufacturer SAP joins the latest wave of layoffs in the global technology industry by cutting thousands of jobs. CEO Christian Klein announced in Walldorf that 3,000 jobs would be lost during the restructuring. In Germany, 200 employees are said to be affected.
With the job cuts, SAP wants to concentrate on growth in the traditional area with software for corporate management (ERP), said Klein. The cuts will come in other areas. CFO Luka Mucic stated that there should also be layoffs. The company wants to reduce the annual costs by 350 million euros with the step. Most of these savings are not expected to take effect until 2024.
In the past fiscal year, the software manufacturer achieved its annual targets with a decent final quarter in day-to-day business. Earnings before interest and taxes, adjusted for special effects, fell by two percent to 8.03 billion euros last year, as the Dax heavyweight announced. Annual sales rose by eleven percent to 30.9 billion euros, also thanks to the increasing business with cloud software for use over the network. But without the weak euro, sales would have only increased by five percent. The bottom line is that net profit fell by a good two-thirds to 1.71 billion euros, mainly because the risk investments in start-ups did not contribute as much valuation income as before.
