KraussMaffei’s Chief Financial Officer Jörg Bremer will leave the company at his own request on July 31, the Germany-based company announced in a statement.
The machinery manufacturer has appointed Thomas Giese as an interim successor. Giese specialises on interim CFO roles for profit improvement and restructuring projects, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The announcement follows a management reshuffle at KraussMaffei at the beginning of 2024, when Bremer was one of the few to keep his position.
The series of management changes is the aftermath of a troubled few years for KraussMaffei. The company posted losses of RMB 2.77 billion ($380.68 million) in 2023, according to that year’s financial report.
In March 2023, the company announced the layoff of “several hundred” employees in Europe. The move was needed to shed expenses after the war in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions and transportation bottlenecks contributed to a loss of some $230 million in 2022, including a goodwill impairment of at least $108.6 million.
The 2023 financial report cites high inflation in Europe as one of the reasons for KraussMaffei's continuous losses. The company said it experienced significant increases in raw materials and energy costs as the European Central Bank kept increasing interest rates.
The first quarter of 2024 did not offer respite for the cash-strapped manufacturer, despite the sale of Netstal for $183 million in February. KraussMaffei posted losses of RMB 327.4 million ($45 million) in Q1 2024. It cited an overall market downturn, with European machinery orders falling by 22% in 2023, as one of the reasons for poor financial performance. Nonetheless, the company noted it signed new orders worth $277 million in the first quarter of 2024.