Pale fear has fallen on the logistics industry. Logistics giant Maersk has announced plans to cut as many as 10,000 jobs. What does this mean for the entire sector?
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The Guardian newspaper was the first to report on the Danish company's plans, claiming that Maersk had to take sharp and drastic measures because of the worsening market situation.
How is this possible?
At this point, someone might rightly ask 'how is this possible? Why the hindrance to a logistics industry that has only been gaining over the past few years?
As it turned out, after a fat period of pandemonium, during which freight and container prices stood at record levels and the logistics giants dictated such terms as they wished, the time has come to cut costs. All because of waning interest in Maersk's services.
However, one would be mistaken to think that some kind of stagnation is to blame. For the logistics industry is simply returning to normality and people who were over-needed a year or two ago are - brutal though it may sound - no longer needed today.
During the pandemic, almost the whole world switched to sea transport. There were sizable queues of container ships in front of major unloading ports. Freight, which customarily cost around a thousand dollars or a little more, at that time reached levels as high as 10,000.
Cutting back sharply
- Well, the truth is that our industry has faced what we can call normality - Vincent Clerc CEO of Maersk told the Journal. - Prices are back to their historic levels, inflationary pressures are mounting and demand is unfortunately subdued, he added.
It is already known that the Danish giant has so far reduced its workforce from 110,000 employees to 103,000, while the target is to "go below" 100,000, which will ultimately save Maersk up to EUR 600,000.
- For years we have seen overcapacity in most regions. This, in turn, has resulted in falling prices and no noticeable downtime - Clerc continued. - Taking all this into account, we have taken measures to reduce costs and safeguard our financial performance - he concluded. For the time being, it is unclear exactly which regions will see the greatest employment education. However, it is worth recalling that Maersk operates in more than 130 countries. - We are not providing any comment on this matter for the time being - a company spokesperson stated laconically.
