Employees

Employee Structure and Employee-Related Key Figures

As at 30 September 2009, the Group had 5,934 employees*, 159 fewer than on 30 September 2008.

Operating personnel expenses declined slightly year-on-year, from EUR 351.9 million to EUR 322.6 million. Operating personnel expenses are net of severance payments for workforce reductions made as part of the restructuring programme. As a proportion of revenue, operating personnel expenses rose slightly to 30.8 percent.

Due to the decline in revenue and the lower headcount, operating revenue per employee dropped from EUR 206,000 to EUR 171,000.

The 3.4 percent decline in the number of employees in Germany compared with financial year 2007/2008 is due mostly to workforce reductions in the Port Technology segment as part of the restructuring programme. Negotiations on the compensation agreement and redundancy scheme at Group subsidiary Gottwald Port Technology GmbH were concluded back in July 2009. In an initial step, 120 employees were transferred to an interim employment company. An additional 100 jobs will go in the near term due to the expiry of temporary contracts, early retirement plans and projected outsourcing measures.

At regional level, we recorded a 4.9 percent increase in our emerging markets workforce in the reporting period. A key element of our strategy is to expand our activities in these regions. We will therefore continue to increase the number of employees there in future.

The number of temporary employees as at 30 September 2009 showed a sharp fall year-on-year. Temporary employees were used in particular in the Industrial Cranes and Port Technology segments. The sharp reduction in the number of temporary employees is due to the change in workload.

The number of apprentices/trainees in the reporting period fell by 12.3 percent compared with 30 September 2008. The rise between 30 June 2009 and September 2009 is due to the fact that the new training years started on 1 August and 1 September 2009. This meant that, in the fourth quarter of 2009, there was some overlap between the newly recruited apprentices/trainees and those who had not yet completed their training.

Human resources development is a key issue for the Demag Cranes Group. We consider qualified employees to be an important success factor. A fundamental component of human resources management is therefore to safeguard the high level of qualification attainment for the long term and to continuously build on that level. As a result, we attach considerable importance to both professional training and numerous planned collaborations with universities and other specialist institutes, through which undergraduates and PhD students are also supported. In the coming years, we will expand human resources development in all segments. One of the areas we will focus on will be training in additional and fit-for-future skills for middle and senior management. Another aim of human resources and organisational development is to constantly optimise operations and safeguard the high quality of our processes and products. The Group already offers its employees ongoing training and development opportunities that aim to equip them with the skills required to carry out current and future tasks more quickly and effectively. As part of an employer branding initiative, we are devising a human resources strategy that will encourage the Group’s managers to take up careers in other segments and even on other continents.

Another key function of the Company’s human resources management is to react to the shift in the age structure of the workforce and to develop suitable response strategies. Currently, more than 35 percent of the workforce in Germany is over 50 (excluding trainees and apprentices). As at 30 September 2009, the age structure of the Group’s employees was as follows:

As at 30 September 2009, the age structure of the Group was as follows:

We are facing the challenge of demographic change head on and keeping our employees informed and trained to an optimum level through targeted knowledge management. In particular, knowledge and experience are to be passed on to colleagues, built on and applied efficiently.

Innovative training and development programmes appropriate for the employee’s age are used to encourage and advance employees, from apprentices right through to the “aging workforce” of employees over 50.

In addition, strategic succession planning ensures that key positions are filled successfully and, as such, it is a business success factor. Within succession management, the Company attaches great importance to identifying talent internally, i.e. recognising the potential of its own employees. By providing selective training and development activities and varying the tasks and responsibilities assigned, we aim to groom in-house talent in Germany and other countries for new responsibilities so that these employees can move up into attractive (international) management positions.