Last summer, the ABB robotics and factory automation subsidiary opened a €100m innovation and education campus, expanding its headquarters to more than 100,000m2. With the relocation of offices to the new campus, 7,000m2 (an area the size of a football field) has become available to boost production to more than two billion components per year – up to 60% more than before.
“The supply chain bottlenecks have eased significantly in recent months,” reports B&R’s managing director, Jörg Theis. “Increased automation is now high on the agenda in many industries. We have reacted to this, extended production and operating hours and are now temporarily looking for several hundred new employees in production and logistics for a temporary extra weekend shift. As a result, we can quickly process our record-breaking order volume and are prepared for sustained high demand for our automation solutions.”
The company has developed a new model for weekend working, which is initially limited to one year. Employees will be offered a salary for working 20 hours on Saturdays and Sundays that is comparable to a conventional 38.5-hour week from Monday to Friday.
B&R says that now that global supply chain issues have eased, it wants to satisfy high demand for its automation products as quickly as possible.
Once all of the vacancies have been filled, B&R expects to be employing more than 3,000 people at its site in Eggelsberg.
