July 22 (Bloomberg) -- Siemens AG plans to cut an additional 1,400 jobs as the German maker of trains, turbines and lightbulbs strives to meet profit targets for the year.

Units making controls for office blocks and providing Information Technology services will be among the operations affected, spokesman Marc Langendorf said. Siemens’ Building Technologies division is seeking to eliminate 300 posts at sites in Germany, the U.K., Switzerland and Sweden.

Chief Executive Officer Peter Loescher is digging deeper to beat last year’s 6.6 billion euros ($9.4 billion) in sector profit, or earnings from main businesses. His aim to raise profitability to the level of General Electric Co. and other competitors has coincided with a global recession that’s hurting orders. A year ago, Siemens already announced 17,000 job cuts, and 19,000 workers are currently on reduced hours.

“Shorter work weeks are simply not enough,” said Heinz Steffen, an analyst at Fairesearch in Frankfurt. “After the elections in Germany, we will see massive jobs cuts, both at Siemens and elsewhere. Companies will wait to announce these measures for political reasons.”

Germany will hold national elections at the end of September, and 80 percent of voters expect Chancellor Angela Merkel to win another term, according to a July 19 poll by newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

Siemens, which reports earnings on July 30, was little changed at 53.45 euros in Frankfurt as of 9:40 a.m. local time.

Shaping Up

In the latest round of job cuts, an Austrian unit involved in software development could lose 630 positions. Siemens VAI Metal Technologies, also in Austria, stands to lose 200 jobs, with a further 300 posts earmarked for elimination at a British information technology services business, Langendorf said.

Negotiations with workers’ councils at all four units concerned are under way.

The German company may miss margin targets at several units in the current fiscal year, and further cost cuts may be needed to meet a 2010 deadline, said Theo Kitz, an analyst at Merck Finck & Co. in Munich.

The industrial division, making lightbulbs, factory automation gear and drives, aims to boost profitability to 9 to 13 percent by next year. The Energy division, supplying turbines and power grids, was the only operation that met its margin target range of 11 to 15 percent in the second quarter of this fiscal year, while Healthcare is still aiming for 14 to 17 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Richard Weiss in Frankfurt at rweiss5@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 22, 2009 03:43 EDT