Flexport restructuring to have “minimal impact” on European employees
09 / 10 / 2023
Flexport’s head of Europe has moved to reassure employees based in the continent that the firm’s upcoming restructuring will have minimal impact on them.
Last week, Technology publication The Information reported that the freight forwarder was planning to layoff as much as 30% of its workforce – around 1,000 employees – as it looks to drive cost discipline.
The company would not at the time comment on the specifics of its plans but admitted that it was looking to improve cost discipline.
However, since then Flexport head of Europe Doug Brown has stated that any restructuring would have minimal impact on European operations.
“Our chief executive Ryan Petersen has been very transparent in the need to drive the growth and cost discipline required to return Flexport to profitability,” Brown said.
“Flexport’s European division has seen tremendous growth, and we expect the restructuring to have minimal impact on the European employee base and our operations in the region.
“We are proud to be a trusted logistics partner to businesses of all sizes in Europe and we are incredibly optimistic about Flexport’s growth in the region.”
The company has been looking to cut costs this year and this is the second round of job losses announced in 2023.
In January, the forwarder said it would cut its workforce by 20% as it faced volume declines due to weak economic conditions.
“Our customers have been impacted by these challenging conditions, resulting in a reduction to our volume forecasts through 2023,” the company said back in January.
“Lower volumes, combined with improved efficiencies as a result of new organisational and operational structures, means we are overstaffed in a variety of roles across the company.”
The latest move comes after a tumultuous few weeks for the freight forwarder.
In September, it was announced that ex-Amazon logistics leader Dave Clark would leave the role of chief executive to be replaced by the firm’s founder and former boss Ryan Petersen.
Since then a raft of other senior employees have left the company.
