Wärtsilä looks at 'maximum of 300' job cuts in restructure

Wärtsilä’s Marine Electrical Systems will also be shifted under the divestment-driven Portfolio business unit as Wärtsilä expanded its strategy review from Voyage to other areas of operation in the wake of what it called a "challenging year" in 2022.

“Marine Electrical Systems largely serves different markets and customers than the rest of Wärtsilä and has a limited strategic fit with the rest of the group. Therefore, we believe that an independent set-up and potential new ownership will be the best way forward for Marine Electrical Systems to develop and create shareholder value. Business continuity will be ensured, and current customer commitments will not be impacted,” Wärtsilä executive vice president of Marine Systems and Portfolio Business Tamara de Gruyter said.

Wärtsilä’s annual results bulletin cited growth in orders, service orders, net sales and organic sales growth but overall operating losses that included a significant write down related to the closure of its operations in Russia.

Wärtsilä ceased all operations in Russia in March following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and posted a €200M (US$201M) write-down in Q1 2022.

In 2018, Wärtsilä completed a high-profile €210M acquisition of the UK-based digital maritime training, navigation and fleet management specialist Transas in 2018 for €210M.

In July 2022, the company announced it was ’ramping down’ its four-stroke engine business in Trieste, Italy. The marine technology firm said it would move its four-stroke engine manufacturing operations to Finland. Wärtsilä said the move was an efficiency measure that would save costs, improve cash flow and further consolidate the firm’s manufacturing centres, in addition to potentially cutting jobs of some 450 staff engaged in the company’s four-stroke manufacturing operations in Trieste, Italy.

In its end-of-year financial bulletin, Wärtsilä said it "expects the demand environment for the next 12 months in the Marine business (including Marine Power and Marine Systems) to be similar to that of last year" with better prospects for the company’s Energy business.

Wärtsilä said it will publish updated financial results following the restructure.

As recently as early September, Wärtsilä Voyage announced a new initiative, launching a floating research and development testbed vessel to field-test software in conditions that approximate real-world scenarios at sea.

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