Upon announcing heavy losses for the third quarter of 2008, plane maker Saab said on Oct. 17 it would cut 500 jobs over two years from 2009. "We are now intensifying our efficiency improvement program with the objective to reach a total cost reduction of 1.5 billion kronor by the end of 2010," the company said. "This will lead to a reduction of 500 employees during a two-year period," primarily through non-replacement of jobs.
Saab announced net losses of 103 million kronor (US$ 14 million) for the three months from July to September, down from profits of 225 million kronor in the same period a year earlier. Orders were down by a fifth and turnover down by 5% to 4.58 billion kronor.
"While the global economic conditions remain uncertain, we maintain our outlook for 2008 of an organic sales growth of 3%-4% and an operating margin of 8%-9%" the company said.
Last month the company issued a profit warning and said it had been hit by delays in new orders and high costs. It reduced its forecast for its operating margin to 8%-9% from 10% this year and cut its outlook for growth in sales this year to 3%-4% from the previous estimate of 5%.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008
