DHL to cut 8,000 jobs as part of US$1.1 billion cost-saving strategy

DHL unveiled plans on Thursday (Mar 6) to cut about 8,000 jobs in Germany this year as part of a strategy to save more than €1 billion (US$1.08 billion) by 2027, after the the logistics group reported a 7.2 per cent fall in annual operating profit.

The job cuts, representing more than 1 per cent of the total workforce, will occur in the Post & Parcel (P&P) Germany division through attrition, rather than compulsory redundancies, DHL CEO Tobias Meyer told Reuters in an interview.

Logistics firms are likely to see slower profit growth this year due to a normalisation of yields, softer demand and easing supply-chain disruptions, Parash Jain, HSBC’s global head of transport and logistics research, said ahead of the results.

Jain expects logistics firms to cut costs, with growth in global container trade and air freight tonnes expected to halve in 2025.

DHL shares have underperformed the wider logistic sector over the past year, falling nearly 11 per cent by Tuesday.

Meyer said there are no plans to separate the P&P business, although it has struggled for years with cost inflation and declining letter volumes.