Net income fell to 578 million euros (US$519 million) in the quarter ended March 31, from 653 million euros before one-time gains a year ago. The company didn't give a forecast for the second half, saying it has yet to figure out what charges it would need to take to cover the cost-cutting efforts.
Siemens, which makes everything from light bulbs to power plants and mobile phones, in March trimmed its forecast for sales and earnings this fiscal year, as demand for handsets and chips weakened. Mobile phone competitors such as Ericsson AB and Motorola Inc have said they will lose money in coming quarters.
"I have directed all of our groups to take further actions to cope with this environment,"' Siemens chief executive Heinrich von Pierer said in a statement. "Therefore, I refrain at the moment from an earnings forecast for the remainder of the year."
Shares of Siemens, which made more money from light bulbs than mobile phones in the latest quarter, fell as much as 5.18 euros, or 4 percent, to 122.35 euros.
Job cuts
The job cuts affect Siemens' enterprise networks division, which makes phone networks for companies. Of the jobs eliminated, 1,400 will be cut in Germany and the rest abroad, Siemens said.
Siemens, which has built up its phone and networks business during the last two years, had already joined rivals earlier this month in announcing staff cuts. Siemens plans to fire 2,000 workers, or one-fourth of its staff making mobile phones, it said.
Second-quarter sales rose 8 percent to 20.6 billion euros, and new orders gained 12 percent to 23 billion euros.
Analyst polled by Bloomberg News had expected profit to fall 20 percent to 625.4 million euros. Sales were predicted to rise 8 percent to 20.7 billion euros.
Play video
There are currently no comments for this post.