In a bid to shed non-profitable operations, Stockholm-based contracting giant Skanska AB will reduce its global workforce by 3,000, new CEO Anders Danielsson said on Feb. 2. In a quarterly results call, he told investors he was “not satisfied” with last year’s 33% drop in group operating profit and described the 0.8% operating margin in construction activities—2.7% below target—as “unacceptable.”
Skanska’s group sales last year grew 6%, to $20.5 billion, while operating profit fell to $700 million. Construction revenue in the U.S. and northern Europe rose 9%, to $19.1 billion, but caused a 66% fall in operating income, to $159 million, Group results were hit by $191 million in project write-downs, including $51 million in Poland. Of an additional $127 million in impairment charges, about $72 million relates to worker-layoff costs.