KOSTENSENKUNG 

Kosten müssen unbedingt reduziert werden = in order to survive we have to drive down/cut down/hammer down/dial down/slash costs; we actually need to tweak the business plan; deep/savage cuts loom/are in the offing/are on the horizon; the CFO laid out his watered-down/stripped-down/ warmed-over version of the company’s business plan

die Kosten werden auf den Prüfstand gestellt = first of all the company is to consider/weigh up in which areas to chase/eye savings and then where spending can be cut/pared/crimped

unnötige Kosten müssen eingedämmt werden = savings must be wrested from various departments; a good initiative would be to slash discretionary travel spending/chip away at business trips expenditures

Kosten sollten gleichmäßiger umgelegt werden = part of the deal is to share/spread costs across all departments/persons more equally

es ist vorgesehen, weniger auszugeben/zu investieren = the package should include putting a brake/stop on expenditures and to stem the tide of large investments; pulling the plug/putting a lid on some inefficient projects is another way of keeping costs at bay/stopping expenditures in their tracks

die Ausgaben werden allmählich heruntergeschraubt = company seeks/intends to scale down/scale back/chip down/reduce expenditures gradually

hier sind einige Maßnahmen, mit denen man der Kostenexplosion entgegenwirken könnte  = here are some guesstimates with some fat thrown in to absorb an expected cost blow-out

Rücklagen sollten gebildet werden = a buffer should be set up/built to address cyclical volatility

einfache und schnelle Lösungsansätze werden konzipiert  = contingency steps should comprise the adoption of fall-back/stopgap/last-resort/save-the-furniture financial options

auch kleinere Schritte werden in Erwägung gezogen = small budget adjustments/tweaks such as a nip here and a tuck there or trim/snip a bit here and a little there are also on the cards/being mooted/being floated  

wir haben kein Patentrezept = we don’t have a sure-fire way/method/concept/a one-size-fits-all/cure-all solution for our financial ailments

das Konzept beinhaltet einige Grauzonen = the concept has a few shades of gray; quick-fix band-aids may not be a good solution

man darf sich nicht aus dem Konzept bringen lassen = don’t let the response/reaction throw you off track

andere Themen werden noch aufgegriffen/angegangen = we still have to face/take on/tackle/deal with other issues 

bei aufkommenden Problemen müssen wir nachsteuern = we must follow up on all problems that crop up

nicht verzagen und immer weiter machen = we must continue to negotiate the labyrinth for a solution/wayout; let’s move on and shrug off the drought/put our dark days behind us     

als würde man versuchen, die finanzielle Quadratur des Kreises zu lösen = it’s like attempting to solve the finance Rubik’s Cube

einige Jobs (ca. 500) könnten verloren gehen, wenn wir den Personalkader ausdünnen/abbauen = the downsizing/cost-cutting redundancies being broached would mean that the axe would fall on, say, 500 jobs

unsere Energiekosten sind aktuell zu hoch = currently we are swamped by high energy costs

Firma verbrennt derzeit wöchentlich zu viel Geld = company is burning through/haemorrhaging too much money on a weekly basis

unsere Kosten stehen nicht im/in Einklang mit den Ausgaben = problem is, our earnings are out of proportion with/out of step with/ disproportionate to expenditures; our expenses are too high, they drained 16% of turnover; current costs should be at least aligned with revenue

leistungsschwache Geschäftsbereiche könnte man eliminieren = another initiative to be considered/floated is to eliminate/weed out poorly performing businesses/is to bail out rotten units

Firma übernimmt die Hotelkosten = the company will pick up/foot/stump up/cough up the bill for hotel accommodation/cost of travel

im Rahmen unserer Sparmaßnahmen werden Gehälter für neue Mitarbeiter sowie Gehaltserhöhungen abgeschmolzen/eingefroren = in line with our new policy of exercising pay restraint salaries/wages for new hires as well as planned raises will be frozen/rolled back   

beim Sparkurs müssen auch einfache Mitarbeiter mitmachen = we also need to make sure (that) cost savings flow through to the lower ranks; we need all hands on deck to realize our savings

unsere Herstellungskapazität wird angepasst = it also means we are going to adjust/right-size/lop off/shave/curb our output/capacity in line with new demand patterns

bis dato haben wir nicht viele Fortschritte gemacht = so far not much headway has been gained as we have been just tinkering around the edges

Kostenreduzierung bleibt nach wie vor unsere Top-Priorität = our key objective remains to focus on driving through/achieving/realizing huge/massive cost savings/cuts; keeping a tighter lid on costs or, so to speak, keeping the cat on a short leash, stands on top of our agenda

grundsätzliche Umschichtungen sind vorgesehen = we will embark on/embrace a radical course of process reengineering

Optimierung/Verschlankung der Prozesse/Abläufe soll die Last der Umstrukturierung abfedern/abmildern = redesigning/streamlining/ honing the workflow and process improvements should help cushion/soften/blunt the blow/impact of the shake-up/reform

man könnte zum Beispiel die Preise erhöhen  = eventually company could also push through price rises

mit diesen Maßnahmen könnten wie wieder schwarze Zahlen schreiben = this is how the company could shrink its way back to profitability