Skanska to shed 3,400 workers in Nordic region

Swedish construction giant Skanska has announced it is laying off 3,400 workers in the Nordic countries in anticipation of a decline in volumes in the region. The company said it is shedding 2,000 staff in Sweden, 600 in Finland and 800 in Norway at a total cost of SEK 600 mln (EUR 58 mln). The company has no construction operations in Denmark.

Skanska said in its report on the first nine months of 2008 that several construction and residential development markets are weakening and that a review of the current order backlog and anticipated order bookings has indicated a volume decline of about 15% in the Nordic region in 2009. 'The main reason is the extremely sharp decline in the residential markets, but a weakening of other building segments is also anticipated. The volume decline for Skanska in other geographic markets is expected to be significantly lower,' the firm said.

The cutbacks affect administrative staff as well as personnel at project level, Skanska said. The costs of the cuts will be charged to Skanska's earnings for the fourth quarter of 2008.