NOTE finalises restructuring
Contract manufacturer NOTE is giving 75 people in Sweden notice of redundancy. The action is a consequence of the restructuring the group has carried out in recent months, including relocating most of its volume production to Central Europe.
NOTE, one of the Nordic region's leading contract manufacturers of electronics, initiated an extensive restructuring programme in the fourth quarter 2004. This included relocating most of NOTE's volume production to the group's Industrial Plants in Central Europe. NOTE also introduced a group-wide warehouse with a separate sourcing function in Poland.
The programme has meant that 187 employees in Sweden - mainly in production - were laid off at the end of 2004. As a consequence of the organisational change, NOTE is now giving notice of redundancy to a further 75 people at its Swedish units. Most of the redundancy notices concern salaried employees.
"It's unfortunate to have to lay off staff, but this measure is a consequence of the redundancies made during the winter, which are now reducing the workload in the white-collar sector," says Erik Stenfors, CEO of NOTE. "The restructuring programme has been necessary for us to continue to develop both Swedish and foreign units in line with our business model."
Restructuring costs, which include this redundancy, are mainly charged to the first quarter of this year. The redundancy programme is expected to have a positive impact on profitability in the second half of 2005.
NOTE is currently represented in seven countries and has some 1,100 employees, of whom some 700 are in Sweden. The group had sales of approximately SEK 1,100 m in 2004, and has a sales forecast for the current year of SEK 1,600 m.
For further information, please contact
Erik Stenfors, President and CEO of NOTE AB, tel. 0176 - 799 01 or 0709 - 50 80 70
Annica Segerström, Human Resources Manager NOTE AB, tel. 0176 - 793 27 or 0708 - 75 71 60