Continued structural transformation in NOTE

NOTE is consistently continuing its restructuring and focus on Nearsourcing. One element of this initiative is to transfer labour-intensive production and sourcing services to cost-efficient countries. Measures have now been taken to reduce the number of employees in Sweden by a further 100 or so.

’’So far this year, we've driven NOTE's transformation with full force-all to realise our new Nearsourcing strategy. Back in the spring, we started adapting our organisation, primarily in Sweden, as we created the conditions for transferring labour-intensive production and sourcing services to our units, where the cost balance is in our customers' and our favour.

As part of NOTE's ongoing restructuring and rationalisation, we gave 200 employees notice in the first half-year, equivalent to just over 251,000 FTEs of our Swedish workforce. We are now taking the next step, which is expected to result in a further reduction of some 100 employees in Sweden. The staff reduction we now intend to implement is mainly a consequence of our long-term strategy and the introduction of a new, more efficient organisation for the future in the autumn. Through these measures, we are cutting costs while reducing business risks and our sensitivity to economic fluctuations. Accordingly, at year-end, we will have a significantly better cost structure than at the start of the year,” says Arne Forslund, President and CEO of NOTE AB.

”Furthermore, the market situation for industry has weakened. Our sales to existing customers have therefore been slightly lower than planned so far this year. However, through our determined focus on Nearsourcing, we are creating the conditions for sales growth. Despite a weaker market situation for our existing customers, we have noted a positive trend reversal since the summer and have significantly increased our sales to new customers and new markets. This is very pleasing for our long-term sales development.

From our position of strength in the industry, we have the ambition to further strengthen our market positions by continuing to establish Nearsourcing Centres in new geographical markets,” concludes Arne Forslund.

For further information, please contact:
Arne Forslund, President and CEO, tel. 08-568 990 07, 0705-477 477
Henrik Nygren, Chief Financial Officer, tel. 08-568 990 03, 0709-770 686

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