Miele announces global restructuring and relocates washing machine production to Poland

The German giant in the household appliances industry will lay off thousands of people worldwide and relocate washing machine production to Poland, as stated in the company’s announcement.

The manufacturer has already informed its employees that there will be a reduction of up to 2,000 jobs as part of the global restructuring of the company. Additionally, they have announced that 700 positions may be transferred to Poland. According to the plans, the areas most affected by the job cuts will be indirect, i.e., individuals not involved in operating production machinery or assembly lines.

“The Miele Group is now also feeling the effects of the global decline in demand for household appliances and drastic cost increases. As part of long-term remedial measures, a comprehensive program to improve structures, processes, and costs has been launched,” the company explains in its Tuesday statement.

What we are currently experiencing is not a temporary economic downturn but rather a lasting change that we must adapt to, the company writes in its statement.

The restructuring is part of a broader business plan aimed at saving around 500 million euros by 2026.

Production related to washing machine manufacturing will be phased out at the company’s headquarters in Gütersloh and completely relocated to the factory in Ksawerowo, which started operations at the end of 2019.

The full relocation of production is planned to be completed gradually by 2027, with Poland becoming the sole country for Miele washing machine production.

Despite announcing record sales results of 5.42 billion euros in 2022, increased expenses and side factors such as the war in Ukraine and the end of the sales boom post-pandemic have led to a significant market slowdown.

According to preliminary data, the company recorded a sales decrease of approximately 9% last year.