STOCKHOLM – Swedish home appliances maker Electrolux said today it would cut up to 4,000 jobs, as it reported heavy third-quarter losses driven by supply-chain woes and weaker market conditions.
Electrolux reported a net loss of 605 million Swedish kronor (RM259.7 million) in the third quarter, down from a net profit of 1.1 billion kronor a year earlier, and announced details of a cost-cutting programme first announced in September.
“The majority of the targeted cost savings will be realised in business area North America,” the company said, adding that “3,500-4,000 positions will be affected by the programme”.
Electrolux’s North American business alone reported a loss of 1.2 billion kronor (US$109 million), the company said, as the region “continued to be heavily impacted by supply chain imbalances resulting in a significantly elevated cost level”.
The company incurred the losses even as its revenue grew to 35.2 billion kronor, up from 31 billion for the same period a year earlier, with the company attributing the sales growth as “mainly a result of strong price execution across all business areas”.
“In the third quarter, the weaker market environment in combination with supply chain imbalances resulted in significantly lower volumes and operational inefficiencies that led to breakeven earnings, excluding the one-time cost to exit the Russian market,” chief executive Jonas Samuelson said. – AFP, October 28, 2022
