Sennheiser plans to cut almost 650 jobs, with 300 job losses expected in Germany amidst a decline in the ‘dynamics of the headphone market’ and the long term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in the consumer and professional businesses.
Sennheiser presented its financial results for the 2019 fiscal year, citing a turnover of of €756.7 million; with earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of €18.5 million, a slight drop compared to 2018’s fiscal year.
The company intends to slash 650 jobs by the end of 2022 as Sennheiser anticipates a ‘significant decline in turnover and earnings’.
Daniel Sennheiser, co-CEO, Sennheiser said: “We look back on a rather mixed fiscal year 2019. In addition, we face major challenges this year due to massive changes in the consumer market and the declining demand for audio products because of the COVID-19 crisis. In order to position the company for a successful future, we will adapt our organizational structure to the changing conditions and align it with the new requirements.”
Sennheiser points out that most jobs due to be cut throughout the company relate to corporate functions such as supply chain and operations, with considerations in place such as a voluntary redundancy scheme and severance packages, partial/early retirement options and no longer filling open vacancies.
Covid crisis
The live event industry has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and is only now taking the first steps to find its feet after gruelling months of shutdown which, for some companies, has seen profits and livelihoods disappear overnight.
Sennheiser’s consumer division has noted a 30-40% decline in the global headphone market in recent months, with sales of Sennheiser headphones decreasing to the same extent.
Sennheiser took action action in March 2020 by implementing cost reduction measures and reduced working hours in Germany, with Sennheiser’s international branches taking measures to reduce personnel and material costs.
Andreas Sennheiser, co-CEO, Sennheiser added: “We will continue to focus on our core competencies and further strengthen both our consumer and professional divisions by transferring operational responsibility completely to these two business areas. Sennheiser has always stood for excellent sound quality and extraordinary audio experiences since its foundation 75 years ago – this is what we will continue to stand for in the future.
“We are a family-owned company and every single one of our employees is part of the team. Together we share a passion for audio. With this in mind, these have been very difficult decisions to make and it is important to us primarily to avoid redundancies and to find individual solutions together with employees.”