DHL unveiled plans on Thursday to lay off about 8,000 jobs this year as part of a strategy to save more than 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) by 2027, after the German logistics giant reported a 7.2 per cent fall in annual operating profit.
The job cuts, representing more than 1 per cent of the total workforce, will occur in the Post & Parcel Germany division and are part of the company’s “Fit for Growth” programme.
The job cuts will take place through attrition, rather than compulsory redundancies, DHL CEO Tobias Meyer told Reuters in an interview.
The company employs approximately 602,000 people in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, according to a company statement. It has 190,000 employees in the Post & Parcel Germany unit.
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The Post & Parcel business has faced pressures for years from cost inflation and falling letter volumes. However, DHL does not plan to separate the division, Meyer said.
Meyer said one of the reasons for the job cuts was the wage agreement reached with the Verdi labour union on Tuesday for a 5 per cent increase in wages and more holiday.
“This collective agreement will burden us with around 360 million euros by the end of 2026,” the CEO said.
DHL, which operates Deutsche Post in Germany, logged 5.89 billion euros in 2024 earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in a challenging economic environment, ahead of analysts’ expectations of 5.81 billion euros in a company-provided consensus.
For 2025, the group expects an operating profit of more than 6 billion euros, which is below analysts’ expectation of 6.29 billion euros.
The forecast does not account for potential impacts from changes in tariff or trade policies, the company said.
“We expect the global political and economic situation to remain volatile in 2025,” Meyer said in a statement.
The company continues its policy on investor returns by proposing a stable dividend of 1.85 euros per share and increasing the share buyback programme launched in 2022 by 2 billion euros to up to 6 billion euros and extending it until 2026.