FRANKFURT, January 2, 2026, 12:30 ET
Siemens Energy has rejected pressure from activist investor Ananym Capital to spin off its loss-making wind turbine business Siemens Gamesa, the Financial Times reported, sticking with a plan to restore the unit’s profitability. The newspaper said Siemens Energy is targeting a 3% to 5% operating margin — profit from core operations as a share of sales — for Gamesa by 2028. 1
The standoff lands as demand for gas turbines and power-grid equipment keeps climbing, pushing Siemens Energy and its rivals deeper into multi-year investment cycles. Siemens Energy said in November it plans to return up to 10 billion euros ($11.5 billion) to shareholders by the end of 2028, a move it tied to what it called booming demand for power infrastructure. 2
Ananym, a U.S.-based activist fund, disclosed a stake in Siemens Energy in December and asked management to review the wind division, arguing a separation would unlock value. The wind unit posted an operating loss of 1.36 billion euros in the fiscal year ended September, and Siemens Energy said at the time it welcomed “constructive input” from investors. 3
Siemens Energy has said it expects Siemens Gamesa to reach break-even in fiscal 2026, part of a broader push to lift margins across the group as it benefits from orders in gas and grid-related businesses. In a November earnings release, it also raised mid-term targets for fiscal 2028, including a profit-margin range of 14% to 16% before special items. 4
A Dec. 31 profile by Ad-hoc News cast Siemens Energy as “the systems integrator” for a rewired global power sector, reflecting its pitch that it can link generation, grids and industrial electrification. That framing puts the company’s grid portfolio at the center of its equity story as investors debate what to do with wind. 5
Siemens Energy says that grid portfolio includes high-voltage direct current (HVDC) links, which move electricity efficiently over long distances, and flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS), power electronics used to stabilise alternating-current networks. The company says those technologies are increasingly used to connect renewable generation and strengthen aging transmission systems. 6
Separately, Siemens’ U.S. unit said it will expand workforce-development partnerships to help train 200,000 electricians and manufacturing experts by 2030, building on more than 50,000 workers already trained and partnerships with 100,000 organisations nationwide. “The future of American industry depends on a skilled and AI-enabled workforce,” said Judith Wiese, Siemens’ chief people and sustainability officer, referring to AI, or artificial intelligence. 7
Siemens said the effort spans programs across the power and manufacturing sectors, including initiatives designed to expand apprenticeships and provide hands-on technical certifications. A summary published on Friday by Today’s Medical Developments said the company is using tools such as extended reality (XR) — a blend of virtual and augmented reality — to simulate jobsite conditions for trainees. 8
U.S. labour data underscore why companies are scrambling to build talent pipelines. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects electrician employment will grow 9% from 2024 to 2034, with about 81,000 openings each year on average. 9
Manufacturers face a similar squeeze. Deloitte has estimated the sector could need about 3.8 million new employees between 2024 and 2033, with roughly half of those roles at risk of going unfilled if companies fail to address skills and applicant gaps. 10
The workforce push comes as equipment makers pour money into factories to ease bottlenecks in transmission hardware such as transformers. Hitachi Energy said it would invest more than $1 billion in U.S. factory projects, while other players including Siemens and GE Vernova have also stepped up spending to expand capacity, a Reuters analysis of the sector’s investment wave showed. 11
