From: "P. Christener" <pechristener@swissonline.ch>
To: <info@eriksrailnews.com>
Subject: Adtranz Cutbacks
Date: Thu, 25 Nov 1999 17:06:12 +0300

The closure of Adtranz facilities in Switzerland will most probably kill the
Adtranz company. Even though the facilities in Switzerland are small scale, 
they feed the much bigger German Adtranz Company with know-how about 
locomotives and key components of modern rail vehicles, like converters and 
control electronics. Furthermore the production costs in Switzerland are about 
30% lower than in Germany. In the financial year 1998 Adtranz Switzerland
produced 10% turn over of the whole Adtranz company with only 5% employees.
Despite the negative results of the mother company in Germany, Adtranz
Switzerland had positive results.

Massive protest against the closure is forming. Several demonstrations
already turned out record numbers in participants. Furthermore a ban of
Mercedes and Chrysler cars is forming. Adtranz Switzerland already started
to withhold information to any German Adtranz company to avoid know-how
transfer to Germany.

The protest movement in Switzerland turned out to internet pages:
http://www.stepone.ch/
(includes a German protest song in MP3-format)

http://www.geocities.com/adtranzprotest/
(official page of the protest committee of Adtranz Switzerland)

regards
P. Christener