Poor demand is expected to push Sweden’s Trelleborg Group to terminate up to 700 permanent/temporary contracts, mainly concerning employees at Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) and Trelleborg Industrial Solutions. A majority of their workforce is to leave by 2020, after a thorough company review and cost-cutting initiatives commence.
Trelleborg noted a shifting trend in the second quarter of 2019, as a downturn in June reversed the company’s improvements observed in May and April.The company expects to see “increasing differences” in development between various market segments, which are greatly impacted by intensified political tension and global trade conflicts, and despite predictions of a stable overall demand, Trelleborg anticipates a “disadvantageous sales mix” that could reduce its earnings in the next quarter.
CEO and President Peter Nilsson said the company has initiated proactive measures to counter the decline in demand – the initiatives are estimated to generate nonrecurring costs of approximately US$53.1 million.