Carlsberg plans to reduce head office functions by 130-150 positions
Following a challenging 2011, Carlsberg is taking a series of actions to ensure that it is in good shape to withstand difficult and uncertain market conditions in Europe in the years to come. In total, Carlsberg plans to reduce the number of positions in headquarter functions across Europe by 130-150, of which approximately 95 positions have been made redundant today in Denmark, Poland and Switzerland. On top of this, Carlsberg is planning to transfer 25 employees from Carlsberg IT to BSP, its business standardisation project. Part of these changes will be implemented during 2012.
"We are preparing for challenging market conditions in the coming years in Europe. Our response is to focus on fewer, but more important activities and execute them with greater impact. This also means that there will be activities which we choose not to do or become a lesser priority. At the same time, we have looked for new and more efficient ways of working across the Carlsberg Group," says CEO Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen, mentioning as an example that Carlsberg's digital marketing activities will now be combined into a new entity with much greater co-operation across markets.
Carlsberg is also establishing an integrated supply organisation for Europe, which will incorporate the group procurement, supply chain and logistics functions. In this way, cost savings will be achieved and customer service will be improved. The organisation will be located in Switzerland and will be in place by the end of 2012.
"The new supply organisation will cross borders and ensure that production is organised as efficiently as possible, capable of delivering all our supply requirements. This will allow our local markets to focus on customers and consumers," said Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen.
Peter Ernsting, Senior Vice President of this new supply organisation, comes with experience from Unilever, where he was responsible for a similar process. Bengt Erlandsson, head of Carlsberg's procurement activities, will join Peter Ernsting in managing this new organisation. As a result, Bengt Erlandsson is appointed Senior Vice President and becomes a member of Carlsberg's Executive Committee.
"Although the outlook is uncertain, we maintain our long term ambition for profitable growth. By focusing and prioritizing our activities, we have a solid foundation for future growth, when market conditions return to normal again," says Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen.
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