Jochen Eickholt (62) has informed Siemens Gamesa's Board of Directors of his decision to step down from his position as CEO by mutual agreement on 31st July 2024 and to depart from the company on 30th September 2024.
He will be succeeded by Vinod Philip (50) on 1st August 2024. Under Philip's leadership, the wind power division will be integrated into the Group's management structure, with operational responsibility assumed.
During the transition period, Eickholt will oversee the orderly and smooth handover. The successor to Vinod Philip as Head of Global Functions (including IT, Purchasing, Innovation, Logistics, Project Management) will be announced later.
Siemens Gamesa has initiated comprehensive restructuring measures and steps for long-term strategic development, aiming to achieve a double-digit operating margin. The goal is to break even by 2026 and then return to profitable growth. The company will remain active in both the onshore and offshore business.
In the future, the onshore business will focus primarily on markets with stable regulatory frameworks where Siemens Gamesa can optimally meet customer needs profitably. Specifically, this includes the European domestic market and the USA. Other local markets will only be served if economically viable. Production capacities in the onshore area will be adjusted accordingly.
In the offshore area, the key task is ramping up capacities, which is proceeding as planned at sites in Cuxhaven (Germany), Aalborg (Denmark), and Le Havre (France).
The global service business remains an important pillar. To further expand the strong presence in onshore turbine services, responsibilities for the new turbine and service business will be combined in the future. A new organizational model will reduce hierarchical levels and clarify responsibilities. The organisational realignment will result in job adjustments, but overall, Siemens Gamesa expects the number of employees to remain roughly constant over the next few years due to growth in areas like offshore. The aim is to absorb as much of the planned staff reduction as possible through internal job transfers. The exact impact of job cuts, especially on individual countries and locations, is yet to be quantified. In the coming weeks, Eickholt and Philip will finalise individual measures and discuss them with employee representatives over the next few months.
