Ruag Space cuts jobs to adjust market position

Ruag Space says profits dropped because of delays in various space programmes and of the Covid pandemic. © Keystone/Walter Bieri

The Swiss aerospace engineering company, Ruag Space, plans to shed up to 100 jobs by the end of the year.

The company said the move was part of a reorganisation to focus on the European market as a leading supplier to the space industry and expand the business in the United States and globally.

The existing structure of the company is “too complex and not agile enough”, according to a company statement.

It added that the Covid pandemic had led to delays in various space programmes, leading to a drop in profitability.

It is not clear yet how many of the job cuts will be achieved through natural turnover and retirements at its sites in Switzerland, Austria and Sweden.

Ruag Space currently employs about 1,300 people in six countries in Europe and the US.

Ii is a segment of the technology group, Ruag which posted sales of CHF339 million ($381 million) in 2019 and supplies Arianespace, a European company which was the world’s first commercial launch service provider.