Siemens closes local center, lays off workers
Siemens Energy, which cut 200 jobs at the end of last year, will lay off 35 more workers this summer as the German industrial conglomerate finishes closing its Houston service center.
The latest service center layoffs will come in two rounds. On July 12, 21 positions will be eliminated at the gas turbines parts and components service center, located at 5730 Clinton Dr. Then, 14 more positions will be eliminated Aug. 16, according to notices filed with the Texas Workforce Commission.
Between December and January, Siemens laid off 217 workers at the Houston center, according to the workforce commission. Most of the site closure will be completed by the end of this year, according to the company.
The engineering giant attributed the closing of the service center and layoffs to global energy market conditions and overcapacity in the company’s network. Oil prices fell 40 percent at the end of last year and have only partially recovered. Crude settled at $58.47 a barrel Friday in New York, down 96 cents.
“This difficult decision was made as a result of the downturn in the global energy market,” wrote Annie Satow, a Siemens spokesperson, in a statement.
The company last September informed employees of the plan to close the center. The job cuts are taking place in phases, as work from the Houston Service Center is consolidated into other Siemens facilities in the United States.
Employees will receive a severance package, according to the company’s letter to the state. Siemens is also cutting jobs in Germany at its power division, after undertaking months of negotiations with labor unions.
Other companies are also cutting jobs as the global economy slows. The German chemical company BASF, which employees about 2,000 people in the Greater Houston area, said Thursday it will cut 6,000 workers worldwide. The company, which has about 120,000 workers globally, did not specify how cuts might affect its Houston operations.
Low chemical prices, particularly in Europe and China, have hurt profits for companies such as LyondellBasell and Huntsman Corp. in recent quarters.