FILE PHOTO: The logo of Thyssenkrupp is seen near elevators in its headquarters in Essen, Germany, November 21, 2019. REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler/File Photo

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The German factories operated by Thyssenkrupp’s elevator division need to be optimized, the unit’s chief executive said, adding talks with labor representatives have already started.

Peter Walker, speaking during a capital markets day, said there was significant savings potential at the unit’s site in Hamburg and that the factory in Neuhausen was not cost efficient enough.

Along with a factory in Middleton, United States, the two German sites are what Thyssenkrupp has labeled “focus cases” in presentation slides.