Siemens CEO Peter Löscher bows out

Siemens Chief Financial Officer Joe Kaeser (left) will replace Peter Löscher as chief executive at the German engineering conglomerate. Löscher stepped down after board members had withdrawn their support in light of a recent profit warning and a series of hapless management decisions.

Löscher was installed as CEO six years ago. The Austrian-born executive was charged with cleaning up the company after a major bribes-for-business scandal in Siemens' overseas operations. His being a company outsider was deemed an advantage in efforts to improve the firm's image.

Löscher's first major mis-step was the purchase of Dade Behring - a medical equipment manufacturer for which Siemens paid $77 (57 euros) per share. The price tag for the takeover of the US-based maker of diagnostics tech for heart and blood diseases was considered much too high.

In the wake of the 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, Siemens decided to end its nuclear energy operations. A joint venture with French nuclear operator Areva fell victim to the decision just two years after it had been launched.

The emerging boom in solar energy has caused Siemens to invest millions of euros in its renewable energy business. In 2009, the company bought Israeli solar equipment-maker Solel for 300 million euros ($398 million). The investment went sour, causing Siemens to shed not only Solel, but close its entire solar business in 2013.

Following the shutdown of its solar business, Siemens also announced its withdrawal from the Desertec project. The industrial consortium seeks to generate power from the sun in North Africa for markets in Europe. Siemens left the project to save funds for its wind and water power operations.

The costs of the company's offshore wind farms in the North Sea are spiralling in the wake of building problems and German grid operators' difficulties in connecting them to the energy markets. Moreover, a Siemens offshore wind farm near Borkum, Germany, is substantially behind schedule.

Siemens-manufactured wind turbine rotors are up to 52 meters long and can weigh about 16 tons. One such rotor broke at a wind project in the Californian desert, forcing Siemens to check all models of this type, running up a bill of an estimated 100 million euros ($130 million).

In April 2013, Siemens admitted that it was unable to produce and deliver its next generation Eurostar train series, which had been ordered by several rail operators. The trains are to be operated in four different countries with different safety regulations. The task has proved too difficult for Siemens to deliver the trains in time.

The delivery of new ICE fast trains for German rail operator Deutsche Bahn was also delayed. The Velaro trains were originally scheduled to be delivered in February 2012, but so far Deutsche Bahn and its passengers have been waiting in vain for the trains to arrive.

The initial public offering of Siemens' light bulb subsidiary Osram in 2013 came after CEO Peter Löscher had already decided to shed the lossmaking unit. The firm has gone through massive job cuts and restructuring - and a soaring share price after its release from Siemens in July.

Siemens' partnership with Finnish cell phone maker Nokia broke up in July 2013. The two firms had sought to gain a leading role in the market for mobile network technology. Siemens sold its stake in the business to Nokia for 1.7 billion euros ($2.25 billion) - with the loss of 1,000 jobs in Germany.