AkzoNobel plans to cut 2,000 jobs by end of 2025

Paint and chemical manufacturer AkzoNobel announced plans to cut about 2,000 jobs worldwide. In a statement released on Monday, the company said it will reduce the number of jobs to cut costs and improve efficiency.

The cuts amount to about 5.5 percent of the Amsterdam-based firm’s global workforce. The Dutch multinational expects to finalize the plan next year.

The company said about 2,400 of its 35,000 workers are based in the Netherlands. It is not clear how many job cuts will affect its Dutch offices, but the positions affected will largely include the management structure, administrative workers, and employees in the finance department.

“This initiative is designed to simplify operations, accelerate decision-making, and streamline the company’s management structure,” the company wrote in a statement about the restructuring. The company’s brands include Sikkens and Flexa.

Earlier this year, the company also announced plans to close a paint manufacturing facility in the Groot-Anmers municipality in Zuid-Holland. Other plants in Ireland and Zambia were also slated to be shut down.

“Over the last three quarters, we have demonstrated our ability to grow,” wrote Greg Poux-Guillaume, the company’s CEO. “We aim to accelerate profitable growth by optimizing our functional organization to become more agile in volatile markets and offset headwinds such as rising labor cost.”

Last year, AkzoNobel earned a profit of 488 million euros on revenue of 10.7 billion euros. It earned 388 million euros on 10.8 billion euros in revenue in 2022.