PHIA Koninklijke Philips NV

By Giulia Petroni and Pierre Bertrand

After a wave of job cuts affecting thousands of people swept across the U.S., Europe is following suit.

A string of companies in the continent--from pharmaceutical to software and food delivery sectors--have outlined plans to cut jobs as they work to streamline production and reduce costs.

High inflation, Russia's war in Ukraine and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have taken their toll on businesses in the European Union and the U.K., causing a growth slowdown and a shrinking of demand for products. Here are some of the job-cut plans recently set out by European companies:

--Royal Philips NV plans to cut an extra 6,000 jobs by 2025, including 3,000 this year, as part of a reorganization aimed at improving its performance. The Dutch health-technology company said Monday that it aims for a simplified operation model that would allow it to reduce costs and be more competitive. These cuts are in addition to the 4,000 roles the company said it would eliminate in October. Philips, which sells products including MRI scanners and ultrasound machines, has been hit by supply-chain issues, lower sales in China and the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war. It has also had to contend with the consequences of a huge recall of devices used to treat sleep apnea. The company reported a swung to a net loss in the fourth quarter of last year amid higher costs.

--ITM Power PLC is targeting a headcount reduction equating to a 30%, or GBP9 million, annualized saving on personnel cost as it aims to streamline the organization. The U.K. clean-fuel and energy-storage company said the cuts are subject to employee consultation. If the measures are implemented, benefits to the company will start to be recognized in the fiscal year starting in May, ITM Power said. The company expects a wider adjusted loss than previously forecast for fiscal 2023 as project delays had a negative impact on sales, it said on Tuesday.

--Delivery Hero SE's Spanish subsidiary Glovo said Monday that it would lay off about 250 employees, or 6.5% of its workforce, largely hitting the food-delivery company's Barcelona main offices. In a message to employees, Glovo's Chief Executive and co-founder Oscar Pierre said the company started seeing a slowdown in top-line yearly growth rates in October and that other delivery companies had also experienced declines in fourth-quarter demand. He said rising interest rates and inflation had affected customers' purchasing power and that although Glovo is still expecting double-digit growth in 2023, it was important for the company to keep its costs low.

--Sanofi SA is implementing a voluntary retirement scheme for employees at two of its facilities in India, a spokesperson said late on Monday. The French drugmaker said that new manufacturers have come about, increasing the overall supply of vaccines and medicines, and making some of Sanofi's production redundant. As a result, the company decided to offer the program to employees at its Medchal and Muppireddypally sites, saying that some activities there were "no longer viable." Still, Sanofi said it remains committed to its presence in the country. According to earlier press reports, the company was planning to let go of all its employees at two plants in India, affecting 800 workers out of the 5000 it employs in the country.

--SAP SE last week said it would carry out a targeted restructuring program that will affect nearly 2.5% of its employees, or around 2,800 workers in 2023, as it attempts to boost its core cloud business. The Germany-based software company said it expects to book the vast majority of the 250 million to 300 million-euro ($271 million-$326 million) restructuring costs in the first quarter of 2023. It said it expects the reorganization to generate EUR300 million to EUR350 million in annual cost savings as of 2024.

Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com and Pierre Bertrand at pierre.bertrand@wsj.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 31, 2023 07:14 ET (12:14 GMT)

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