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Our position as a global leader is based on our highly innovative technologies. We owe these mostly to the skills and expertise of our employees, as well as to their great commitment and willingness to perform.
Attracting suitably talented employees enables us to secure our power of innovation. Well-structured HR activities and working conditions that are safe, healthy, and employee-friendly – these are essential factors. After all, to achieve peak performance in the long term the company needs satisfied and dedicated employees.
“Zero tolerance for accidents” – that is the principle underlying our approach to work safety. We therefore apply a prevention-based approach. When it comes to occupational health and safety, our top priority is always to avoid all potential risks of injury. For this reason, we investigate all work accidents in order to detect and permanently remove any potential risks in our technical and organizational processes. Occupational health and safety are a particular responsibility of our managers. We endeavor to ensure that all employees see our targets and measures for occupational health and safety as part of their own responsibilities and support these accordingly.
Our understanding of occupational health and safety is reflected in the consistent and targeted manner in which we implemented suitable measures within the company to avoid infections on the part of our employees during the pandemic. We based these measures on the recommendations made by the Federal and State Governments and on those issued by the Robert Koch Institute.
The members of the Health and Safety Committee (ASA), which comprises a representative of the management, two members of the Works Council, the company physician, safety specialists, and the safety officers, hold meetings each quarter. These meetings are also attended by members of the severely disabled representation group, as well as by representatives of the Human Resources and Compliance department and from Facility Management.
We instruct all our employees on topics relating to occupational health and safety protection on a regular basis, and at least once a year, and also include factors of current relevance, such as the protective measures required during the coronavirus pandemic.
In the ASA group, three employees have been appointed as internal safety specialists. Together with the company physician, they are responsible for advising managers, the Works Council and employees, as well as for training safety officers.
The ASA is assisted in its activities by a total of 137 company first-aiders at our sites in Germany (2020: 111).
A total of 43 working days were lost due to accidents in 2021 (2020: 18). There was one accident on the way to or from work in 2021 (2020: 2) and a total of 14 injuries were entered in the first-aid log (2020: 18). Thankfully, as in previous years none of the accidents that took place in 2021 had fatal consequences.
Around 28% of AIXTRON’s employees work in production and around 32 % in research, both areas in which the highest safety standards apply and all actions, even unconscious moves, have to be safe and correct. This being so, we attach great importance to providing regular instructions and optimal protective equipment.
Maintaining a company integration management system to enable employees to return to work after extended periods of sickness or reintegrate them after accidents is for us not just a legal obligation – it is also a self-evident part of our efforts to uphold the working capacity and employability of our staff. No penalties or fines were imposed on AIXTRON due to breaches of occupational safety requirements in the period under report
* LTIFR = Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate; number of accidents at work with more than one working day lost as a proportion of the number of hours of work actually performed in the period under report, normed at two hundred thousand hours of work. This key figure was calculated for the first time for the 2021 year under report. It is therefore not possible to provide comparative figures for previous years.
** IR = Injury Rate; number of injuries / hours of work, normed at two hundred thousand hours of work. This key figure was calculated for the first time for the 2021 year under report. It is therefore not possible to provide comparative figures for previous years.
*** Working days lost due to work-related sickness and accidents (excluding accidents on way to/from work) and
number of work-related injuries, accidents on way to/from work, and work-related sickness.
We accord the utmost priority to the health and wellbeing of our employees. In our health program we provide employees with access to various preventative measures, such as regular and ongoing occupational medical examinations, or flu and coronavirus vaccinations.
We are aware that working conditions, a trusting and constructive environment, and a cooperative management style have a major impact on employees’ wellbeing and health. To account for this, we attach great importance to a culture of constructive feedback based on partnership.
Our employees receive encouragement from their managers to take responsibility for themselves and their colleagues. Moreover, when planning work duties we provide employees with the greatest possible flexibility in combining their private and working lives wherever operating requirements permit.
The measures taken by the government in connection with the coronavirus pandemic required further adjustments to be made to work routines, or existing adjustments to be maintained, once again in 2021. In close cooperation with employee representatives and the company’s health and safety officers, all prescribed and necessary measures to protect our workforce were implemented swiftly and with due care.
Where activities could be performed from home, all employees were encouraged to work from home in the period from March and June and then once again from November. The introduction of shift-based work in production departments proved to be effective in reducing the numbers of employees required to be present at the same time in these areas.
Thanks to the responsible conduct of our employees at work and in their leisure time, we largely escaped infections and were able to uphold normal business operations.
For us, diversity does not just mean ensuring equality of opportunity, but is a way of boosting our innovative strength and competitiveness. For the AIXTRON Group, a workforce made up of people from different cultures, an appropriate gender balance, and a balanced age structure are an active part of our corporate culture.
AIXTRON is explicitly committed to equality of opportunity and promotes cooperation in mixed teams. This way, we are able to understand the needs of our international customers more closely and can assess potential solutions from a variety of perspectives.
Worldwide, AIXTRON employed 739 people from 42 nations in 2021 (2020: 745 people from 35 nations). Overall, our male employees came from a total of 34 nations, while our female employees came from 23 nations (2020: men: 26, women: 20 nations).
Despite various efforts to increase the share of female employees, the ratio is not balanced. As of December 31, 2021, men made up 80 % of our workforce, while women accounted for 20 %.
We have digitalized an ever greater share of our processes in recent years. The measures taken by the government in connection with the coronavirus pandemic have further accelerated this trend in the past two years.
Mobile workplaces have been offered wherever operating requirements permit and employees have been enabled to work from home.
Due to travel restrictions, we converted part of our customer support to digital solutions based in some cases on augmented reality. A further current development focus involves digitalizing our processes with the assistance of efficient SAP tools. Moreover, within the shortest of timeframes we also installed a digital infrastructure to ensure compliance with the legal requirements introduced to combat the pandemic. These relate to the so-called “3G rule”, which only permits employees who are vaccinated, officially recovered, or newly tested to come to work.
Not only that, we also pressed further ahead with introducing Microsoft 365. MS Teams has become ever more firmly established in the company’s internal and external communications. This was particularly important at times when staff were required to work on a mobile basis, as it helped to maintain and promote exchange between colleagues.
To promote effective cooperation, we accord great importance to communicating openly and on a basis of partnership. This also involves providing regular and transparent information to the whole workforce. In digital staff meetings held each quarter, the Executive Board informs all colleagues worldwide about the company’s business performance, customer wishes, market developments, and new company agreements. Recordings of these events mean that colleagues who are unable to watch them live can also keep track of developments. Furthermore, all relevant information is promptly published in suitable media channels.
Via the intranet, we regularly provide information about current topics and the latest developments at the company. A project involving targeted staff surveys on a wide variety of relevant topics was also initiated in 2020. Work then began in the 2021 year under report on processing the results of the staff survey, not least in connection with the Leadership Development Program.
Employee totals, broken down by type of employment relationship (full and part time) at the end of the year.
Today’s world of work places many demands in employees and their families. We therefore make every effort to ensure, where possible, that the company’s business interests are compatible with the private and family needs of our employees. The coronavirus pandemic in particular has promoted mobile work and video calls.
Since 2020, we have offered mobile workplaces and flexible working hours to our employees. Since 2020, employees have been allowed to perform up to 20% of their weekly working hours from home, with no application being made of this restriction during the coronavirus pandemic. Using individual time accounts, each employee can individually design and largely determine their working hours in accordance with operating requirements and their personal needs. We also enable our employees to opt for individually tailored part-time employment. In 2021, a total of 71 employees were employed on a part-time basis (2020: 91), of which 38 women (2020: 39) and 33 men (2020: 52).
At our sites around the world, we also support the desire on the part of parents to take parental leave after the birth of their children. A total of 734 employees were entitled to parental leave (2020: 745). In Germany and the UK a total of 19 employees drew on this option (2020: 15). We are pleased to report that in the 2021 year under report, 16 of the 19 employees returned to work after their parental leave.
Since 2012, we have supported a nearby childcare facility (TP Hasen) with an annual donation of EUR 1,800. This is intended to help staff and parents at the Herzogenrath site in their efforts to find a childcare facility close to their workplace.
Given the great importance of specialist skills and expertise in its activities, AIXTRON has a strong interest in retaining its employees at the company on a long-term basis. At the same time, AIXTRON’s products are subject to fluctuations in demand, some of which substantial. To have sufficient flexibility in responding to these fluctuations, we also draw on temporary contracts or work with established engineering service providers and temporary employment agencies.
Breakdown by gender and region of permanent and temporary employees at the AIXTRON Group at the end of the year
At our German locations, we have determined the relevant procedures in a company agreement and additionally committed ourselves on a global basis to the “equal pay” principle and compliance with the “equal treatment” principle for temporary and permanent employees.
All employees therefore benefit from the grants provided to use our canteen. It also goes without saying that all our employees are equally welcome to attend company events such as employee and Works Council meetings and summer and Christmas parties.
Overview of men and women in temporary and permanent employment at the AIXTRON Group at the end of the year.
In 2021, AIXTRON had an annual average total of just under 74 temporary employees (2020: 38). This figure thus almost doubled compared with the previous year. Of these, 64 temporary employees worked for us in Germany (2020: 30), 9 in the UK (2020: 5), and 1 in Asia (2020: 3). Of 739 employees, 658 had permanent contracts (2020: 682). A total of 81 employees had temporary contracts in the year under report (2020: 63), corresponding to a share of just under 11 % of the overall workforce (2020: 8.5 %). Of these, 17 were women (2020: 13) and 64 men (2020: 50).
AIXTRON operates in a rapidly changing business climate and is dependent on highly qualified and motivated specialist and management staff. Being an attractive employer is an important factor for us if we are to attract and retain the best talents and employees.
The development in employee totals in 2021 was shaped by the reduction in the number of employees due to the restructuring of the APEVA Group, which was in turn countered by a significant increase in the number of employees at AIXTRON SE. In the 2021 year under report, we thus attracted a total of 90 employees (2020: 102), particularly in Germany, Asia, and the USA. These included 21 women (2020: 25) and 69 men (2020: 77). The overall personnel turnover rate over the same period amounted to 13.3 % (2020: 6.6 %). One key reason for the increase in this rate in the year under report was the aforementioned reduction in the number of positions at APEVA in Germany and Korea.
In our selection and hiring process, we attach great importance to transparency and equal opportunities. As a general rule, we offer permanent employment contracts to new colleagues. We naturally comply at all times with national legal requirements concerning the protection of employees’ rights, company-internal agreements, and statutory notification deadlines.
One core element of our external presence as an employer is our careers website, where we provide interested parties with extensive information and motivate them to apply. Based on a specific requirements profile, AIXTRON selects its employees in accordance with their specialist and personal qualifications and their previous experience. Due to the restrictions resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, we once again held numerous online interviews in 2021 and only invited applicants to meetings on site once the application process had reached an advanced stage.
Age structure of newly hired employees at the AIXTRON Group. A total of 90 employees were newly hired at the AIXTRON Group in 2021, of which 21 women and 69 men (2020: 102; 25 women and 77 men).
Share of management staff hired locally and non-locally at the AIXTRON Group.
One important aspect for us is to integrate new employees quickly and well into our processes and their new group of colleagues. The newly structured on-boarding process, which was implemented in 2019, is now actively lived at the company.
Breakdown of employees leaving the company by age group and personnel turnover rate as a proportion of employee totals for each region. The overall personnel turnover rate for the AIXTRON Group amounted to 13.3% in the 2021 year under report (2020: 6.6%). The increase is attributable to the restructuring implemented at APEVA due to the economic expectations placed in this subsidiary not being met.
Here, the relevant specialist departments act in advance to provide a fixed structure with topics for individual discussion and personal meetings and formulate these plans in writing. This is intended to ensure that our new colleagues very quickly feel at home at our company and are swiftly able to find their way round and become integrated in their new environment. Further information about employee selection can be found in the Group Management Report in the “Employees” section of the “Business Processes” chapter.
As a partner in QUANTIMONY, the new international doctorate program, we are supporting the training of upcoming scientists while at the same time researching the forward-looking field of quantum technologies using the chemical element antimony (Sb). The EU’s funding program QUANTIMONY (“Innovative Training Network in Quantum Semiconductor Technologies Exploiting Antimony”) is an innovative network for doctoral studies and offers high-quality training for 14 next-generation researchers.
The network comprises 11 internationally renowned research teams and is supported by 12 strong partner organizations from Europe, the USA, Taiwan, and Brazil.
QUANTIMONY is intended to assist in bringing antimony (Sb) compounds to serial production using MOCVD technology and subsequently use in computers and memories, telecommunications, cars, robotics, and numerous other applications going beyond existing applications in the fields of aviation, space travel, and security. Antimony-based quantum technologies are an important forward-looking field and have a highly promising range of potential applications.
We see life-long learning on the part of our employees and our expertise in the specialist fields in which we operate as essential for maintaining our position as a technology leader in the long term. We therefore accord great importance to accompanying our staff competently and as partners, supporting them individually, and challenging them with forward-looking projects. Ongoing comparisons with the company’s needs are just as important as the measures taken by employees to actively shape their own development.
Overview of average training hours at the AIXTRON Group with breakdown by men and women
As part of our company-wide personnel development program, we provide our employees with numerous measures for ongoing training, as well as individual training measures and development opportunities. One core component of this approach is the in-house AIXTRON Academy, which offers a wide range of training measures, such as discussion, time, and stress management skills, as well as topic-specific content.
Furthermore, we promote the development of executives and employees with external individual coaching and internal coaching programs. We are also increasingly encouraging employees to share experiences and ideas with each other.
Since 2013, personnel development and career planning have been based on the annual employee appraisal meeting, at which the employee’s training needs for their current and future roles are identified and the employee’s personal interests and wishes are determined. Based on a company-wide standard, managers and employees can give each other feedback and discuss measures to enhance their cooperation, where appropriate, and to promote the employee’s strengths. A further major component of the employee appraisal meeting is the agreement of development goals.
In 2021, AIXTRON invested an average of EUR 472 per employee in personnel development and training (2020: EUR 324). On average, each employee trained for more than 13 hours in the 2021 year under report (2020: 8).
We see the training we offer to the next generation of staff in technical and commercial vocations and in dual study programs not only as part of our responsibility to society, but also as the basis for our company’s ongoing success. This way, we give young people the opportunity to prove themselves, to develop their strengths, and to contribute their ideas. We are proud that AIXTRON trainees have repeatedly been singled out by the Aachen Chamber of Industry and Commerce in recognition of their outstanding performance.
In fiscal year 2021, we employed a total of 16 trainees and students in dual study programs in Germany and the UK (2020: 18). It is important to us to offer young people a perspective upon the successful completion of their training. Consistent with this, in recent years AIXTRON has accepted all of the trainees and dual study program students wishing to remain at the company. To this end, a corresponding agreement has also been reached with the Works Council at the Herzogenrath location.
A structured working environment characterized by well-planned daily processes gives rise to new ideas and wishes that are sometimes not implemented or shared throughout the company. We would nevertheless like makes these ideas available to everyone and show our appreciation. In 2015, we therefore established a company suggestion scheme based on uniform principles worldwide as part of our innovation management process.
We encourage our employees to submit their ideas on how to improve processes, save costs, enhance products, etc. If the suggestions are accepted, then the company pays a reward to the employee. This year, a total of 77 suggestions were submitted, of which 32 were accepted. Since the scheme was introduced, the number of improvement suggestions submitted has been pleasingly high. Since 2015, we have acknowledged and rewarded the suggestions thereby submitted at a consistently high level.
We see our company as part of society and, consistent with this, also aim to meet our responsibility towards society. For this reason, we have for many years promoted welfare projects, supported the voluntary commitment shown by our employees in the annual company run, and provided school pupils and students with the opportunity to gain insights into our company and form ideas about their own future careers.
Supporting young people in science, education, and their career development is important to us. Since 2017, we have therefore cultivated a long-term cooperation with Einhard-Gymnasium, a high school in Aachen. By offering presentations, company tours, and internships, we also provide school pupils and students with the opportunity to gain insights into the various career options on offer at our technology company. As a supporting member in the Industry and Business Workgroup (AIW) of the German Physics Society (DPG), we have also offered the “Day on Site” for many years now. Regrettably, due to coronavirus-related restrictions, this could not take place in 2021.
Since 2017, a learning partnership has been in place between AIXTRON and Einhard-Gymnasium, a high school in Aachen. Within the “KURS” initiative (cooperation network of companies and schools in the region), these partnerships give schools the opportunity to provide their pupils with vivid and tangible examples of how business actually works by reference to a specific partner company. At the same time, companies have the chance to present themselves as employers and “good neighbors”.
Examples of the opportunities given to pupils include the “Vocation Information Days” and the “Girls and Boys Day”, where pupils visit the company and have the chance to talk to our trainees. Here, the young people share their experiences of careers choices and find out more about vocational training and the resultant career opportunities at AIXTRON. Moreover, the advantages and disadvantages of dual training and study programs as an alternative to college study are presented and a selection process is simulated in an assessment center. In “Road to Jobs”, another regular event, we provide the boys and girls with detailed explanations of the training vocations on offer at AIXTRON and are on hand to answer their individual questions.
Since 2011, we have taken part in the annual Aachen Company Run and have also repeatedly participated in the “Chariots of Fire” relay race in Cambridge. We support the motivation shown by our employees to do something for their health and cover the entry fees, which then benefit charities in the region. Due to the measures taken by the Federal and State Governments to contain the coronavirus pandemic, however, it was once again not possible for these events to take place in the 2021 year under report.
In the past 2021 year under report, we successfully held our global virtual company run for the second time. This is becoming ever more popular. While a total of 116 employees took part in the first run, in the year under report this figure rose to 176 employees from all AIXTRON locations. This means than 20 % of all employees participated in the “2nd AIXTRON Global Virtual Run”.
Participants were free to decide where and when they would run in the period from November 1 to 21, 2021, as well as whether they would run alone or with others. Aged between 19 and 60, the runners could also opt for one of three distances (5, 10 and 15 kilometers). The runners then documented their timings and the distance chosen with the help of customary digital tracking apps or tracking devices.
In all, the participants ran a total of around 1,500 kilometers. Given our offer to donate EUR 2 for each kilometer run, this led to a total donation of EUR 3,000. This amount was transferred in January 2020 to “Wings for Life”, an officially recognized charitable foundation for bone marrow research which has set itself the goal of finding ways to heal paraplegia.
Parts of Germany witnessed floods on an unprecedented scale in July 2021. In response, we donated EUR 50,000 to the “Menschen helfen Menschen” charity. The flood left its mark not only on the Ahr Valley, but also on towns and villages in our own region. Many people were severely affected, for example by the destruction of their houses and/or the losses of their livelihoods. As part of our responsibility to society, we provided rapid uncomplicated assistance here.
A cancer diagnosis radically alters the life of any family. It comes as a shock and triggers great changes not only for the patients themselves, but also for children and young people living in the families affected. To provide assistance here, shortly after the end of the year under report we donated EUR 5,000 to a regional charitable organization called Brückenschlag, which is run by Caritas.
Alan Tai
Taiwan/Singapore
Christof Sommerhalter
USA
Christian Geng
Europe
Hisatoshi Hagiwara
Japan
Nam Kyu Lee
South Korea
Wei (William) Song
China
AIXTRON SE (Headquarters)
AIXTRON 24/7 Technical Support Line
AIXTRON Europe
AIXTRON Ltd (UK)
AIXTRON K.K. (Japan)
AIXTRON Korea Co., Ltd.
AIXTRON Taiwan Co., Ltd. (Main Office)
AIXTRON Inc. (USA)
Laura Preinich
Recruiter
Tom Lankes
Talent Acquisition Expert- Ausbildungsleitung
Christoph Pütz
Senior Manager ESG & Sustainability
Carsten Werle
Director Investor Relations (Interim)
Ragah Dorenkamp
Director Corporate Communications
Prof. Dr. Michael Heuken
Vice President Advanced Technologies