DSV Panalpina is sacking 3,000 employees as a result of the corona crisis. The logistics service provider expects the pandemic to depress operating profit in the coming months.
The integration of DSV and Panalpina last year already saw the loss of 3,000 jobs, with DSV Panalpina employing 58,788 people worldwide at the end of March. Now another 3,000 employees are being laid off.
According to CFO Jens Lund, it involves positions in all layers of the company, both at headquarters and on the operational side. "This is not something we take lightly," said top executive Jens Bjørn Andersen. "More than 3,000 good, loyal employees will have to leave the company. As our company grows, we will add people. On the other hand, we have to cut costs when our business shrinks."
DSV Panalpina' s first-quarter operating profit was 250 million krona (over 33 million euro) lower due to the corona crisis. The impact of the virus was smaller than expected, so Andersen still spoke of a "satisfactory result".
Still, the top executive believes that further downsizing is necessary, as the effects of the crisis on freight transport will be felt for months to come. The company hopes to offset that with a 10 per cent cost cut, with 50 per cent of the cuts expected in the air and sea freight division, 30 per cent in road transport and the remaining 20 per cent in DSV Solutions, the company's contract logistics arm.
