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(Sharecast News) - AP Moller-Maersk is to axe 1,000 jobs, the shipping giant confirmed on Thursday, as it warned that falling freight rates would hit earnings in 2026.
Around 15% of Maersk's 6,000 corporate positions will be affected, with consultations already underway.
The Danish group said it wanted to simplify the organisation and reduce costs to "drive continuous productivity improvements and maintain strong cost discipline".
The announcement came as Maersk posted a fall in revenues in the 12 months to December end, to $54bn from $55.5bn a year previously. Underlying annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at $9.5bn, down from $12.1bn, with underlying earnings before interest and tax sliding to $3.5bn from $6.5bn.
Maersk said volumes in ocean - its largest division by some distance - grew 4.9%, in line with the market, despite "volatile" markets. But it acknowledged that revenues and profits had fallen on the back of lower freight rates, caused by oversupply.
The group performance in 2025 was broadly in line with expectations.
However, looking to the current year and Maersk, the world's second-largest shipping line, warned that annual underlying EBITDA would slide to between $4.5bn and $7bn. EBIT was also slated to fall sharply, coming in between a $1bn profit and $1.5bn loss.
"Financial guidance is based on the expectation that global container volume growth will be between 2% and 4%, and Maersk will grow in line with the market," it noted. "The ranges reflect the expected overcapacity in the shipping industry and scenarios of a gradual Red Sea reopening in 2026."
As at 1030 GMT, the Copenhagen-listed stock had lost 6%.
Vincent Clerc, chief executive, said: "We delivered a strong performance and high value for our customers in a year where supply chains and global trade continued to be reshaped by evolving geopolitics.
"The year highlighted the need to strengthen and modernise global supply chains and critical infrastructure, further emphasising the relevance of our strategy."