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Maersk to cut 10k jobs as shipping demand drops

reuters.com

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Re: Maersk to cut 10k jobs as shipping demand drops

#21

Post by gruez »

mschuster91 wrote: post #19
matwood wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They had a huge surge of demand coming out of COVID, and hired to meet that demand. That demand is gone, and they are moving their staff requirements back down closer to pre-COVID (and not even that far). What exactly were they suppose to do?

Keep the headcount as high as possible while still turning a profit so they can react on demand going up again in a short notice.

>Keep the headcount as high as possible while still turning a profit

Opportunity cost is a thing. Just because you're not in the red doesn't mean the decision is costless. Think about it from the opposite perspective. Suppose you're a company with the right number of employees (neither too much nor too little) but you see demand is dropping. Would you go on a hiring spree so you could "react on demand going up again in a short notice"?

Re: Maersk to cut 10k jobs as shipping demand drops

#22

Post by Oras »

salmonlogs wrote: post #6

> Danish shipping giant Maersk has posted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $30.9bn for the full year ended 31 December 2022, a 57% surge from $19.6bn in 2021. > This is said to be the firm’s best-ever annual result. https://www.ship-technology.com/news/maersk-logs-record-prof... Really sad to see these companies make enormous record beating profits then months later do mass layoffs just to maintain better…

> Companies wonder why employees are not loyal, change companies every 2 years, are disengaged, and not working hard enough.

Working hard is a trait you earn for yourself not just for the pay check.

If you work hard, learn more, I’m sure you’ll have better chances improving your career or even starting your own business later

Re: Maersk to cut 10k jobs as shipping demand drops

#23

Post by vasdae »

Oras wrote: post #22
salmonlogs wrote: post #6

> Danish shipping giant Maersk has posted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $30.9bn for the full year ended 31 December 2022, a 57% surge from $19.6bn in 2021. > This is said to be the firm’s best-ever annual result. https://www.ship-technology.com/news/maersk-logs-record-prof... Really sad to see these companies make enormous record beating profits then months later do mass layoffs just to maintain better…

> Companies wonder why employees are not loyal, change companies every 2 years, are disengaged, and not working hard enough. Working hard is a trait you earn for yourself not just for the pay check. If you work hard, learn more, I’m sure you’ll have better chances improving your career or even starting your own business later

Depends on what your job is. If you are delivering packages in a van, you are just a cog. You can work as hard as you want and they will replace you all the same.

Re: Maersk to cut 10k jobs as shipping demand drops

#25

Post by boeingUH60 »

salmonlogs wrote: post #6

> Danish shipping giant Maersk has posted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $30.9bn for the full year ended 31 December 2022, a 57% surge from $19.6bn in 2021. > This is said to be the firm’s best-ever annual result. https://www.ship-technology.com/news/maersk-logs-record-prof... Really sad to see these companies make enormous record beating profits then months later do mass layoffs just to maintain better…

Do you suggest they keep employees around with nothing to do because of significantly reduced shipping demand?

I agree with your point about getting laid off being awful, but I think this should be solved by the government having a robust social safety net (funded by taxes) so that getting laid off doesn’t cause stress. Fortunately, Denmark already scores high in this area.

Re: Maersk to cut 10k jobs as shipping demand drops

#26

Post by jzjsniiaj »

mo_42 wrote: post #14
salmonlogs wrote: post #6

> Danish shipping giant Maersk has posted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $30.9bn for the full year ended 31 December 2022, a 57% surge from $19.6bn in 2021. > This is said to be the firm’s best-ever annual result. https://www.ship-technology.com/news/maersk-logs-record-prof... Really sad to see these companies make enormous record beating profits then months later do mass layoffs just to maintain better…

The earnings Maersk has posted reflect the past. The mass layoffs reflect the future of the company (i.e., less demand in the future). So I wouldn't put these two things into one argument necessary. Then, an absolute number of profit doesn't reveal much. Maybe this seemingly huge profit is tiny compared to the effort to make it (i.e., the profit margin). As much as I'd like to see a world where we value more aspects…

> The earnings Maersk has posted reflect the past. The mass layoffs reflect the future of the company (i.e., less demand in the future).

If I draw parallels to personal finance, say I have a record high profitable year, would I rather assume my profits stay record high in the future and increase spending/investments OR would I ensure I have enough rainy day funds for the next inevitable slowdown (at least give me enough runway to weather the slowdown before cutting big line items in my expenditure). Funny enough, this time around some big companies that laid off thousands just after a year of record profits also had record amounts of cash on hand, making me wonder if it's more about manipulating stock price to a desired level.

I understand that companies are more complex than personal finance but am I wrong that these are potentially symptoms of mismanagement rather than just to be pushed under the rug as demand-in-the-future? Surely, the money/time spent on hiring, training, laying off, and rehiring, retraining people a year or two later when demand returns is worth something. Just seems to me that the economy will be so much more resilient if everyone simply focussed more on emergency funds

Re: Maersk to cut 10k jobs as shipping demand drops

#27

Post by ViewTrick1002 »

mschuster91 wrote: post #17
mo_42 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The earnings Maersk has posted reflect the past. The mass layoffs reflect the future of the company (i.e., less demand in the future). So I wouldn't put these two things into one argument necessary. Then, an absolute number of profit doesn't reveal much. Maybe this seemingly huge profit is tiny compared to the effort to make it (i.e., the profit margin). As much as I'd like to see a world where we value more aspects…

> The earnings Maersk has posted reflect the past. The mass layoffs reflect the future of the company (i.e., less demand in the future). And should demand pick up again in 2-3 years worth of time, they'll now have a really hard time ramping hiring back up... fucking beancounters don't learn, even as the aviation industry is right now showing just how bad this effect can get.

Not really. The shipping industry is known to be extremely cyclical with a liquid labor market. The companies who survive are the ones that react accordingly.

In just a couple of years they have went from scarcity and record profits to a capacity glut and shipping prices cratering.

Re: Maersk to cut 10k jobs as shipping demand drops

#29

Post by mnky9800n »

boeingUH60 wrote: post #25
salmonlogs wrote: post #6

> Danish shipping giant Maersk has posted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $30.9bn for the full year ended 31 December 2022, a 57% surge from $19.6bn in 2021. > This is said to be the firm’s best-ever annual result. https://www.ship-technology.com/news/maersk-logs-record-prof... Really sad to see these companies make enormous record beating profits then months later do mass layoffs just to maintain better…

Do you suggest they keep employees around with nothing to do because of significantly reduced shipping demand? I agree with your point about getting laid off being awful, but I think this should be solved by the government having a robust social safety net (funded by taxes) so that getting laid off doesn’t cause stress. Fortunately, Denmark already scores high in this area.

Maybe companies can have like a savings account for when they don't make a lot of money, that way if they think they might not make as much then they can cover the difficult times.

Re: Maersk to cut 10k jobs as shipping demand drops

#30

Post by franczesko »

boeingUH60 wrote: post #25
salmonlogs wrote: post #6

> Danish shipping giant Maersk has posted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $30.9bn for the full year ended 31 December 2022, a 57% surge from $19.6bn in 2021. > This is said to be the firm’s best-ever annual result. https://www.ship-technology.com/news/maersk-logs-record-prof... Really sad to see these companies make enormous record beating profits then months later do mass layoffs just to maintain better…

Do you suggest they keep employees around with nothing to do because of significantly reduced shipping demand? I agree with your point about getting laid off being awful, but I think this should be solved by the government having a robust social safety net (funded by taxes) so that getting laid off doesn’t cause stress. Fortunately, Denmark already scores high in this area.

"Do you suggest they keep employees around with nothing to do because of significantly reduced shipping demand?"

Management should be fired for miscalculated headcount instead.

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