Siemens to throw CEO overboard after profits slashed a FIFTH time
Company bigwigs to decide Peter Loescher's fate this week
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German tech firm Siemens looks set to show chief exec Peter Loescher the door on Wednesday after the company was forced to issue a fifth profit warning.
"At its meeting on July 31, 2013, the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG will decide on the early departure of the President and CEO. In addition, it will decide on the appointment of a member of the managing board as President and CEO," the firm said in a statement.
Siemens is the second largest company by market value in Germany and it surprised investors last week when it binned its profit margin targets, the second adjustment this year. The firm said last week that it no longer expects to hit a 12 per cent margin on sales in fiscal 2014. It's due to announce its third-quarter figures on Thursday.
German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung said that Loescher planned to fight his impending dismissal and would only go quietly if Gerhard Cromme, the chairman of Siemens' supervisory board who reportedly hired the 55-year-old Austrian, left at the same time.
According to Der Spiegel Cromme stepped down from the supervisory board of steelmaker ThyssenKrupp in March for failing to prevent that company from posting billions in losses. ®
