Maersk Line to cut 250 jobs in Copenhagen

World’s largest container shipper will cut 400 jobs worldwide after losing 3.4 billion kroner in first quarter

Copenhagen-based container shipper Maersk Line has announced that it will cut 400 jobs out of its global workforce of 25,000. Some 250 of those job cuts will be in Copenhagen, the company reported in a press release.

The company said the cuts were a part of a reorganisation after heavy first quarter losses. The final details of the plan are due out on June 12.

“We want to build a successful business that consistently delivers acceptable returns to its shareholders. This requires that we challenge ourselves to have as efficient an organisation as possible,” Søren Skou, CEO of Maersk Line, said.

A subsidiary of A.P. Moller-Maersk, Maersk Line lost 3.4 billion kroner in the first quarter of 2012, compared with profits of 2.5 billion kroner in the same period last year.

Some 2,200 of Maersk Line employees are based at the company's various headquarters in Copenhagen, London, Singapore, Manila, Mumbai and Pune, India. It is the world’s largest container shipper and accounts for 42 percent of A.P. Moller-Maersk’s business.

In its efforts to increase profitability, Maersk Line had already grounded some of ships as a way to decrease capacity and increase freight rates. The company also embarked on efforts to reduce its fuel consumption 22 percent by 2014. In 2011, Maersk Line spent a reported 35 billion kroner on fuel. 

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