EnBW terminates company-level agreements

Karlsruhe. The company-level agreements in the EnBW Group governing cost-intensive fringe benefits are being terminated as a precautionary measure. This termination will, not, however, affect the benefits to be paid in the year 2003, in particular the payment of the Christmas bonus. "It must be stated explicitly that this step is not geared towards the discontinuation of the payment of benefits by the company; rather, in view of the ongoing negotiations with the works council, it is a precautionary measure that is being taken to underpin our goal of meeting the 2004 targets set out in EnBW's "Top Fit" earnings growth programme. The termination does not pre-empt the results of any negotiations", says Dr. Bernhard Beck, Chief Human Resources Officer of EnBW.

The aim of the EnBW programme "Top Fit" is to improve the earnings outlook for the Group. To this end, EnBW intends to make sustainable savings of around EUR 1 billion up to the year 2006, with personnel expenditure accounting for around EUR 350 million of this total. Measures planned for 2004 are to make an important contribution to these savings, and the precautionary termination of the agreements is necessary to ensure that these targets are met.