Cut Another 200 people! The shipping giant announced the suspension of shipping operations in the country

Recently, Maersk Group confirmed that it is in the midst of a new round of major layoffs, the shipping giant's headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, about 200 people are being laid off.

At the same time, according to Maersk's official website, Maersk announced that as of December 1, it will officially end all operations in Syria, which means that it will no longer accept bookings and provide any cargo services to and from Syria.

Hans Ubbe Ebbesen, head of Maersk's global employer brand, is said to be one of the employees being laid off. Maersk has also announced that it will cut another 2,500 jobs globally in the coming weeks.

Maersk is currently executing the cost control plan announced by the shipping group in early November.

Earlier, Maersk announced at the same time as the third quarter financial results, the number of employees from the beginning of 2023 110,000 people to the current about 103,500.

But it cut at least 10,000 jobs, bringing its total workforce below 100,000.

In this regard, Maersk chief executive Ke Wensheng said that sluggish demand, freight rates back to historical levels and costs facing inflationary pressure have become the new normal of the industry.

Since the summer, overcapacity on most global routes has caused freight rates to fall, but there has been no significant increase in ship dismantling or idling.

He explained that in order to better meet the challenges ahead, Maersk has accelerated a number of cost and cash control measures to safeguard financial performance.

Maersk has cut 6,500 jobs since the beginning of the year after failing to fill vacancies.

Maersk's cost-cutting plan has had a broad impact on the company, particularly in the logistics business and in India and China, where Maersk has a large workforce.

Back in August, Maersk announced that the company was undergoing a "major overhaul" and had also introduced measures similar to a hiring freeze.

In response, Maersk explained that the personnel adjustment is complementary to cost control throughout the year, and the cumulative effect could reduce Maersk's selling, overhead and administrative costs by $600 million in 2024.

Earlier, Maersk announced its results for the third quarter of this year.

According to the report, its third quarter revenue of $12.13 billion, profit fell to half of the same period last year, mainly due to lower freight and higher costs and other factors.

In response, Maersk Group immediately said it would lay off at least 10,000 people to reduce costs. Maersk shares plunged more than 16 percent to their lowest level in three years on the news.

Among them, the Marine business revenue in the third quarter fell to $7.897 billion from $18.018 billion in the same period last year.

Recently, according to Maersk officials said that from December 1, it will no longer accept booking to and from Syria, Maersk ships will no longer call at Syrian ports.

The last Maersk ship to dock in Syria will be the Maersk Narmada(346E/347W) on November 28.

In response to the decision, Maersk explained that since Syria is a highly sanctioned country and its business activities are already very heavily restricted, Maersk has conducted limited operations in Syria in full compliance with international sanctions.

At the same time, as the logistics became more challenging, we decided to close the business completely.

In addition, Maersk added that in order to meet its existing commitments, Maersk will ensure that all bookings to and from Syria using allocated containers will be facilitated.

All customers affected by this announcement will be contacted individually to discuss delivery details.

In addition, according to foreign media reports, Maersk recently signed a long-term green methanol purchase agreement with Goldwind Green Energy Chemical, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China's clean energy leader Goldwind Technology, with an annual output of 500,000 tons, to support the first 12 large methanol dual-powered vessels to achieve low-carbon operations.

The agreement is the first large-scale green methanol purchase agreement in the global shipping industry and will be valid until after 2030, with first production expected to be achieved in 2026.

According to Rabab Raafat Boulos, Maersk's Chief Facilities Officer, the agreement is a milestone for Maersk, marking that we can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

It is consistent with the 1.5 ° C reduction trajectory set out in the Paris Agreement, while ensuring that the company continues to provide low carbon shipping services to its customers.

Currently, Maersk aims to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from all its operations by 2040.

The signing of this agreement will significantly reduce the risk of the initial phase of Maersk's net-zero path and support the achievement of a competitive green methanol market price by 2030.

The record high production will meet more than half of Maersk's current fuel requirements for methanol-powered ships.

In addition, the agreement demonstrates the momentum and great efforts of many developers to drive cross-regional project operations. However, in order to decarbonize the global shipping industry, there is still a long way to go to supply the green fuel market.