Copenhagen, 30 September 2009
After a series of adjustments in the individual business areas, DFDS now
adjusts its main office. In total 27 jobs will be lost. However, as a number of
posts have remained vacant, 17 employees will leave the company.
In the spring of 2008 DFDS began a review with the aim of reducing the
company's costs and adapting its staffing levels to current market conditions:
the organisation of DFDS Seaways was streamlined in the spring of 2008, and
this was followed by streamlining the organisation of the freight-based
business areas Ro-Ro Shipping, Container Shipping, Terminal Services and
Trailer Services. As a result staffing levels in various locations in Denmark,
Sweden, Germany, UK, Norway, Lithuania, Holland and Belgium have been adapted
to current market conditions.
At the same time DFDS has via Project Lightship worked to identify savings of
DKK 100 million per year starting from 2010 in areas such as oil consumption,
crewing, maintenance, purchasing and supplies. One effect of this has been that
crews on board ships sailing under Danish flag have been reduced by two per
ship. On 28 September crews on board ships sailing under Lithuanian flag in the
Baltic were reduced by approximately four per ship.
On this background staffing levels in our main office in Copenhagen will be
adjusted.
“Regrettably this means that today we will lose 27 jobs from all levels in our
main office. However, as we have pre-empted this situation by keeping a number
of posts vacant, this corresponds to 17 employees. We would like to stress that
these redundancies are linked to market conditions following the economic
crisis and that the employees affected have provided a valuable and loyal
service to DFDS,” says Niels Smedegaard, CEO of DFDS.
“With these adjustments and the savings achieved through Project Lightship,
DFDS will be well equipped to meet the challenges which the sea-based transport
market is facing, thus ensuring that DFDS will be one of the companies to
emerge stronger from the downturn which started in 2008,” says Niels
Smedegaard.
Kind regards,
DFDS A/S
For further information, please contact:Niels Smedegaard, + 45 33 42 34 00
or Gert Jakobsen, + 45 24 40 00 43.
