Danish Crown to eliminate 800 jobs as It restructures operations
Company expects the changes to deliver annual efficiency savings of about US$77.9 million.
DENMARK – Danish Crown has announced plans to cut around 800 positions over the next three years as the meat producer restructures its operations and centralises key functions across its business divisions.
The workforce reduction will primarily affect management and office-based employees as the company streamlines administrative activities and creates a more unified organisational framework across its international operations.
According to the company, the restructuring programme will be implemented across several countries and business units as part of efforts to simplify decision-making processes and reduce the number of management levels within the group.
Simplified organisational model
The cooperative said the new structure will feature fewer managerial layers, with leaders taking on broader responsibilities and overseeing larger teams through more direct reporting relationships.
Chief executive Niels Ulrich Duedahl said the company’s various business units have historically operated with a high degree of independence, adding that the group is now seeking closer coordination between operations in different markets and product segments.
Duedahl stated that Danish Crown intends to function as a fully integrated organisation rather than a collection of separate businesses, with common systems, targets and operating standards applied across countries and divisions.
The company currently operates through eight business units, including Industry, Foods, Beef, its UK business, the Swedish slaughterhouse KLS, the Polish subsidiary Sokołów, the meat trading company Ess-Food, and the casing manufacturer DAT-Schaub.
As a result, Danish Crown expects a smaller management structure and lower overall headcount over the next two to three years as the transition progresses across the organisation.
The company estimates that the restructuring initiative will generate efficiency gains worth approximately US$77.9 million annually once fully implemented.
Profit pressures continue
The announcement follows weaker financial results reported by Danish Crown last month, when the company recorded a significant decline in earnings during the first half of its financial year.
Operating profit fell to approximately US$98.3 million from about US$207.2 million recorded in the same period a year earlier, representing a drop of more than 50%.
Meanwhile, revenue decreased 2.6% to roughly US$4.92 billion as lower slaughter volumes and reduced average selling prices weighed on performance in a European fresh meat market facing increased supply pressures.
The company also cited disruptions linked to African swine fever outbreaks in Spain, which affected raw material availability and contributed to weaker net earnings during the six-month period.
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