Voestalpine Balances Apprentice Intake Against Tariff-Driven Job Cuts at Kindberg
Published on 11/10/2026 at 16:12 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Voestalpine is hiring and trimming at the same time. The Austrian steelmaker confirmed on Thursday that it has taken on 311 new apprentices in Austria, a figure announced at its group apprentice day in Linz, where 380 young skilled workers from Austria, Germany and Switzerland gathered. Worldwide, the company trains roughly 1,500 young people — a group-wide number that sits alongside, rather than in place of, the roughly 150 positions it plans to eliminate at its Kindberg site.
The Kindberg reduction, which surfaced about a week ago, is a response to additional US duties on seamless pipes. A company spokesperson confirmed the cuts will be carried out by the end of March 2027. According to media reports, the site employs around 950 people, and a social plan is to be drafted by the end of November 2026.
Duty Stack Tops 107 Percent
Washington accuses Voestalpine of price dumping on seamless pipes. Per media reports, the US Commerce Department has added a rate of 57.38% on top of an existing 50% duty, bringing the potential total burden to as much as 107.38%. Under those terms, Voestalpine considers shipments to the US economically viable only to a very limited extent. The group intends to have the duty calculation reviewed legally and to fight the preliminary anti-dumping decision. Final US rulings are expected by 12 January 2027 and 22 March 2027, according to media reports.
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Indiana Expansion Already Running
The tariff pressure contrasts with Voestalpine's US investment track record. On 28 July the group opened an expanded production facility in Jeffersonville, Indiana, putting in around EUR 70 million — equivalent to the USD 80 million cited by the company. The expansion creates a total of 110 new jobs, with full production expected from mid-2027.
CEO Signals Preference for Foreign Sites
Chief executive Herbert Eibensteiner said on Friday that he would not build a new plant in Austria, according to media reports. He would pick a location with significantly better energy prices and a lower cost base. His remark addressed the question of a new facility and did not refer to any announced relocation of existing operations.
Results Due, Shares Firmer
Voestalpine has scheduled publication of results for the first half of 2026/27 — the quarter ended 30 September 2026 — for 11 November 2026. The stock was up 0.8% today, extending a firmer close the previous day after Friday's decline, which was attributed to broad market weakness following the sell-off in US technology shares.
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