Conwert Immobilien Invest said on Monday it is making 50 staff redundant as part of a programme to optimise costs and increase efficiency. The company is seeking to reduce general administration expenses by around 10-15% this year and to reduce total costs to 11-12% of revenues in 2009, from 14% in 2008. The layoffs are affecting around 10% of Conwert's total staff of 530.
Conwert Immobilien Invest said on Monday it is making 50 staff redundant as part of a programme to optimise costs and increase efficiency. The company is seeking to reduce general administration expenses by around 10-15% this year and to reduce total costs to 11-12% of revenues in 2009, from 14% in 2008. The layoffs are affecting around 10% of Conwert's total staff of 530.
'With these measures we are reacting to the changed framework conditions in the property markets and strengthening the internal financing power of Conwert while at the same time benefiting from the growth opportunities in the service business', said Johann Kowar, Chairman of the Executive Board. 'We will optimise our cost structure to ensure growing cash earnings in the future with purely organic growth.'
The company said it will bring together its three Austrian offices to one head office in Vienna. It added that it will look into merging and reorganising some of its business units. 'In Hungary for instance, no new development projects will be implemented, existing condominiums will be sold off, and staff in Budapest will be reduced to a minimum from currently 16 employees,' it said.
In Germany, the number of employees in property acquisition will be reduced due to the market situation and the property research segment will be merged into existing business units. The company hopes the cost saving measures will show a positive effect on earnings as early as this year.
Additionally, Conwert said it plans to expand its property sales and services business and up to 30 jobs could be made available in this sector. It said: 'By transferring Conwert properties which have so far been externally managed to our own property management also saves external costs and entails substantially lower personnel and material costs.'
As a result of the review, the company unveiled a series of changes in its executive board. Thomas Rohr and Jürgen F. Kelber were made responsible for the entire business in Austria and Germany respectively. Walter Leitner, Andreas Nittel and Alexander Zartl will leave the executive board and assume management positions.
