Alfa Laval to trim 300 jobs in Sweden

Swedish industrial giant Alfa Laval announced plans on Monday to lay off 1,000 workers globally in the next six months, including 300 redundancies in Sweden.

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The staff reduction is in response to a drop in demand during the fourth quarter, as well as concerns about prospects for 2009.

While fourth quarter net sales were up about 11 percent to a record 8.0 billion kronor ($989 million), orders were down 6 percent to 6.2 billion kronor.

Alfa Laval’s full year sales for 2008 reached 27.8 billion kronor.

By trimming its workforce and letting go a number of consultants and contractors, Alfa Laval is hoping to achieve an annual savings of 400 million kronor.

Lund, home to Alfa Laval’s global headquarters, will be hardest hit by the layoffs.

The company plans to shed 190 of its 1,200 workers there, Alfa Laval spokesperson Peter Torstensson told the TT news agency.

In addition, 50 positions will be cut in Ronneby in southern Sweden, 40 in Tumba outside of Stockholm, and 40 more in Eskilstuna in central Sweden.

Two thirds of those affected by the redundancies are blue collar workers, while the remainder consists of managers.