COPENHAGEN, Feb 5 — Danish shipping giant Maersk said Thursday that it would cut 1,000 corporate positions as it reported lower revenue for 2025 and warned of continued overcapacity in the shipping industry this year.

Maersk said that to “maintain strong cost discipline” it was taking steps to “simplify the organisation and reduce the company’s corporate overhead”.

As a result, around 1,000 of its 6,000 corporate positions would be cut. Maersk has around 100,000 employees globally.

The company reported a fall in revenue to US$54.0 billion last year, compared to US$55.5 billion in 2024, despite increased shipping volumes.

Volumes grew 4.9 per cent, in line with the overall market, “while profitability declined due to lower freight rates caused by supply overcapacity”, it said.

Net profit was more than halved to US$2.7 billion, down from US$6.1 billion in 2024, which Maersk said resulted mainly from “the significant decrease” in Ocean transport earnings, which fell by a nearly a third to US$6.3 billion.

It was the lowest net profit the company has reported in five years.

“Global trade in 2025 continued to be shaped by unprecedented and persisting volatility,” the company said.

“The continued closure of the Red Sea, renewed tariff measures and ongoing geopolitical tensions disrupted supply chains and amplified uncertainty.”

Operating profit (EBIT) came in at US$3.5 billion for 2025, beating the US$3.2 billion expected by analysts according to FactSet, but representing a sharp decline compared to the US$6.5 billion the company reported for 2024.

For 2026, Maersk expects shipping volumes to grow between two and four percent, which at projected shipping rates would herald a further decline in operating profit.

It currently projects a 2026 operating result that could range from a loss of US$1.5 billion to a profit of US$1 billion. — AFP