Maersk reorganizing, cutting 100 jobs

A.P. Moller - Maersk said a reorganization will reduce the size of its Copenhagen headquarters staff from about 830 to about 730.

   The company said the head office would be reorganized into two distinct units -- a corporate center and service functions.

   The corporate center, with about 250 employees, will focus on group governance activities like accounting, finance, information technology, corporate relations and human resources. The service functions unit will employ about 480 and provide support in areas like procurement, IT services, oil trading, technical operations and recruitment. 

The split will clarify responsibilities within the group and we will place even more operational responsibility where it should be -- decentralized in the business units. In addition, it will reduce complexity and save costs, said Nils S. Andersen, group chief executive officer. Having to reduce the number of employees is regrettable. But as the pressure on our business units increases, group functions also have to be more effective in order to strengthen the group's overall competitiveness  While the staff reduction will result in savings, a spokesman said the changes were not motivated by the current global economic slowdown or weakness in the shipping industry, but were part of a long term effort to reorganize management and would have gone forward even if the economy was strong.

   The new headquarters setup is expected to be finalized within the month of January.

   A.P. Moller - Maersk employs about 117,000 globally.

Source: American Shipper