Traditional lighting is gradually withdrawing from the stage. Where will Osram Foshan Factory go?

Here is No. 1 Foshan Industrial North Road. In 1995, OSRAM Foshan started as one of the world's three major lighting companies, bringing the most advanced German lighting technology to China and gathering in the energy-saving lamp business.

However, the lighting industry has developed rapidly in recent years, and the cost of LED lighting has fallen to the limit of replacing traditional energy-saving lamps. The traditional energy-saving lamp business at the Osram Foshan plant has experienced unprecedented pressure on order instability and high cost. Although it has continuously implemented measures to reduce costs and improve efficiency, it is finally on the verge of a “turn around”.

A recent survey by Nanfang Daily found that since last year, the total number of Osram Foshan factory personnel has decreased by 10% compared with the end of last year. After the workshop workers naturally lost, they no longer replenish their posts, and individual departments were dissolved overnight. According to insiders, the OSRAM Foshan plant began to “slim down” from the R&D front end, and then slowly extended to the production workshop staff to reduce it to the final closure. The “slimming” idea is clear...

Yesterday, Osram (China) Lighting Co., Ltd. responded exclusively to the Nanfang Daily on the issues of “slimming” and the future direction of Foshan Plant. By default, there was indeed an optimization and reorganization of personnel in the past year, but it is emphasized that Foshan Plant will continue to be the future development strategy of OSRAM. Focus.

Loss does not make up the post, naturally "slimming"

Foshan headed for Chongqing K836 train, 44-year-old Lin Qiong (pseudonym) lamented: "I may not take this train to and from Foshan and Chongqing." She was previously a driver of the spiral lamp workshop at the OSRAM Foshan factory. Workers, resigned and returned home this month. "Since this year, the general workers in the production workshops have been lost, and they are no longer replenishing their posts. In order to pursue efficiency, enterprises have extensively collected opinions from employees, which links can be reduced, and employees who make suggestions can receive a reward of 2,000 yuan. The manpower in the workshop is getting tighter and tighter. The machine that was originally seen by 10 people may be five or six people. The operation time is very tight. Even eating and going to the toilet are not scornful!"

What Lin Qiong is telling is the performance of the traditional lighting industry struggling on the edge of profit.

At the end of last year, lighting giant Osram announced that it would lay off 4,700 people worldwide and gradually phase out old technology. It is clear that this move is due to the gradual decline of the traditional lighting market and the rise of LED.

“According to past practice, even in the 2008 financial tsunami, the OSRAM Foshan plant did not lay off employees to reduce costs.” At the end of last year, OSRAM announced that in order to save 1 billion euros to start layoffs, engineers at the OSRAM Foshan plant energy-saving lamp workshop A Tao (a pseudonym) once said to his friends very well. However, six months later, when one rumor was confirmed, he had made up his mind to leave the factory with unclear prospects in his eyes.

“The orders for traditional lighting fixtures are not stable. We sometimes work overtime and sometimes do not work. If there are too many workers, the pressure on the company is great. Only by improving efficiency and reducing labor costs, the products are available on the market. Competitive." Lin Qiong said.

This approach is one of the main ways in which traditional luminaires are currently upgraded. According to an industry insider, the Pearl River Delta has gathered a large number of lighting manufacturers. Some enterprises have turned to LEDs, but some are based on traditional lamps and are still sticking to the energy-saving lamps business. However, the share of the entire market is limited. Under the impact of LED lighting products, we only continue to maintain the market by compressing production costs and upgrading products.

The data obtained by a reporter from a HR at the OSRAM Foshan plant is that as of June this year, the number of employees of the company was 4,000 at the beginning of last year, and it was 3,700 at the end of last year, but currently only 3,500. "There is a small number of direct layoffs, and more is to let employees lose naturally and not to replenish," said the HR, who asked not to be named.

In an era when the stability of general workers is not high, it is a good way to allow people who are “only going out” to lose naturally.

Dissolve the 100-person department overnight

In 1995, in the sound of drums, Osram (China) Lighting Co., Ltd. was completed. After 18 years in Foshan, the plant's current productivity ranks first in the Asia-Pacific region in the Osram global map, second in the world, second only to the United States.

At the end of last year, OSRAM announced global layoffs. This traditional lighting production base located in Nanhai, Foshan, has long been rumored before the announcement of “reduction of employees”.

In the middle of last year, a mechanical equipment department with 100 employees in the OSRAM Foshan plant suddenly announced its dissolution. At the Osram Foshan plant, the Human Resources Department was responsible for the recruitment work. The employee who has resigned now confirmed to the reporter that most of the employees responsible for the production line design were merged into another department responsible for the daily maintenance of the production line. More than ten people were "negotiated to terminate the labor contract."

The dissolution of the 100-person department overnight caused a lot of discussion inside the OSRAM Foshan factory, but this department, which was considered by some employees to be “a bit idle”, was more interpreted as a normal adjustment of the company’s internal organizational structure.

A deeper interpretation appears after the new leadership team takes office. In October last year, the new leadership team of Osram (China) Lighting Co., Ltd. headed by Ai Xiaoming officially took over the management of the Foshan factory from the previous German CEO. A localized team means that OSRAM is paying more attention to the Chinese market. When Ai Xiaoming came to power, he immediately launched the “PIP” performance improvement plan.

“The main purpose of the performance improvement plan is not to lay off employees, but to improve employee performance and corrective behavior.” In a magazine published in the OSRAM Foshan plant in April this year, Ai Xiaoming wrote specifically about his new deal. He particularly emphasized that "the establishment of a high performance culture is the focus of our fiscal year, and PIP is a very important tool for achieving a high performance culture."

These instructions were later considered by many employees to be three hundred and two without silver. At the same time, OSRAM announced the construction of a new LED factory in Wuxi.

"The various meetings or materials inside the company indicate that the traditional lighting market is shrinking, and the company will increase its investment in LEDs," said Li Wei (a pseudonym) of the Quality Management Department. Under a series of signals, internal employees have speculated on the fate of the Foshan factory, and various rumors began to emerge.