COPENHAGEN -(Dow Jones)- Maersk Line, the world's largest container shipping company, said Friday it will lay off 400 employees at its global corporate centers in a bid to decentralize operations and improve efficiency to counter over-capacity in the industry and weak freight rates.
This corresponds to 18% of the 2,200 people currently employed in the centers.
The aim of the re-organization is to achieve faster decision making and relocate execution and service tasks to dedicated country offices in order to get them closer to the customers, the company, a unit of Danish industrial conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S (MAERSK-B.KO), said in a statement.
Maersk Line, which is currently sailing at losses due to over-capacity in the industry and weak freight rates, has a total of 25,000 employees worldwide.
- By Flemming Emil Hansen, Copenhagen Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +45 33 12 44 88; flemming.hansen@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 01, 2012 04:31 ET (08:31 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.