Electrolux, Miele and BSH cut jobs as Asian rivals gain in Europe

European home appliance manufacturers are pressing ahead with restructuring, closing plants and moving production abroad, while Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Haier expand their positions in the European market, according to etnews.com.

Electrolux said in May that its Italian restructuring plan would cut up to 1,700 of 4,500 local jobs and shut its Cerreto factory. Miele had cut 1,300 jobs in Germany by the end of last year and will move all household washing machine production to its Polish plant by 2027. Bosch's appliance subsidiary BSH plans to cut 3,500 jobs by 2027 and in October last year announced the closure of two German plants, in Nauen and Bretten, employing about 1,400 people.

Local production is shrinking as a share of what Europeans buy. According to the European appliance association APPLiA, locally made appliances fell from around 80% of those sold in Europe to 71% last year.

Korean and Chinese manufacturers are moving in the other direction. Samsung Electronics ranked first in Italy's overall appliance market in 2022 on a GfK revenue basis, and LG Electronics aims to become Europe's top home appliance company by revenue by 2030. Haier said its European revenue rose 4.9% in the first half and that its share of the Spanish and Italian multi-door refrigerator market exceeded 30% by sales value.

APPLiA also reports that penetration of A- and B-grade energy-efficient appliances grew 4.4-fold between 2020 and last year, a shift that is reshaping what European buyers choose.