HKScan is planning to improve its cost-efficiency in all its markets. In addition, the company is assessing the way of working in its Categories & Concepts function. The aim is to increase the company’s agility to respond more competitively to its customers’ needs in local markets. With these planned actions HKScan aims to achieve Group-wide annual savings of EUR 10 million, materializing from Q4/2019 onwards. The planned actions will be a part of HKScan´s Group-wide EUR 40 million efficiency improvement program (Stock Exchange Release 19.7.2018).
In connection with the plan, HKScan will initiate statutory negotiations in all its functions in all markets following the legal requirements of each country.
HKScan plans to adjust its operations in order to improve cost-efficiency in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Baltics and Poland. In addition, the company is assessing the way of working in its Group-wide Categories & Concepts function; the aim is to ensure a stronger focus on its customers, consumers and commercial activities locally. The plan is to integrate the Categories & Concepts function to markets and to clarify roles and responsibilities. With these planned changes, HKScan aims to strengthen the profit and loss responsibility and the management of the whole value chain in each market.
The planned changes don´t have any impact on The Group´s operating model outside the Categories & Concept function, and the Group-wide synergies continue to play an important role as well.
All 1200 white-collar employees, senior white-collar employees, and management in all HKScan’s operating countries are within the scope of the statutory negotiations. Blue-collar employees are outside the scope of the negotiations. Also personnel working at the Rauma unit in Finland are mainly excluded from the negotiations.
The maximum headcount reduction within the Group is estimated to be 220. The goal is to make a final decision on the planned measures as soon as possible upon conclusion of the statutory negotiations and during the first half of 2019 at the latest, if materialized.
“During the recent years, HKScan’s competitiveness has been continuously weakening. Our current approach isn’t reflecting, from neither an agility nor a cost competitiveness point of view, the market needs. To strengthen our competitive position in the industry, we must definitely improve the cost-efficiency of our operations and seek new ways of working to meet our customers’ expectations and consumer needs in our home markets. Through the planned changes we aim to build a more solid foundation for the future and for the development of the company,” says Tero Hemmilä, CEO, HKScan.
