Maersk shipyard facing job cuts
Odense Steel Shipyard, the Lindo, Denmark-based shipbuilding unit of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group, said Tuesday that redundancies might be unavoidable as it seeks to climb out of “an extremely difficult financial position.”
The company said it is operating at a massive loss and is struggling to cope with international fluctuations, including the weakening U.S. dollar, and severe competition from the Far East, where costs are substantially lower.
“This is the background for presenting a plan for an efficiency drive,” said Lars-Erik Brenoe, chairman of the board.
Details of the plan were not divulged, but the company said it involves a number of requirements to be made by all employees to strengthen the yard’s productivity and competitiveness.
“The owner has in recent years invested substantial amounts in the yard, but it is necessary now to bring down the yard’s costs significantly in order to provide momentum for its possibilities of surviving in the long term. In this connection, it might not be possible to avoid lay offs,” Brenoe added.
