Maersk Supply Service is to slash 130 jobs over the next two years as it looks to concentrate on fewer business areas and regions.
The Christian Ingerslev-led company said its focus will now be on scale and competitiveness in offshore wind and offshore support vessels.
By focusing on fewer business areas and regions, the company says it will “increase its presence in core markets, increase synergies in its operations and improve profitability”.
Maersk Supply Service said the job cuts will impact both onshore and offshore personnel over the next two years, depending on the consultation process in the UK.
Two casualties of the job cuts have already been confirmed with chief operational officer Mark Handin and head of integrated solutions, Olivier Trouvé, set to leave the company by end of September 2023.
Their jobs are being cut as part of a reorganisation of the management team which will be restructured around the two new core business areas.
Jonas Munch Agerskov, currently chief commercial officer, will take on the newly created role of executive vice president for offshore wind and assume full responsibility for the offshore wind business. For the OSV business, Michael Reimer Mortensen will join Maersk Supply Service as the new chief commercial officer and be responsible for leading the commercial efforts in the OSV business.
Maersk Supply Service will search for a new Chief Technical Officer to be part of the management team.
Maersk Supply Service said the more focused portfolio will also have impacts on current business areas and geographical position.
“While Maersk Supply Service will continue to support towing, mooring and installation of offshore assets on a time-chartering basis, it will no longer enter new turn-key solutions projects,” the company said.
“The balance between risk and reward in solutions projects does not meet the financial expectation and Maersk Supply Service lacks the scale needed to mitigate risks and get synergies. The company will honour its commitments and execute the project backlog.”
Further, Maersk Supply Service wants to focus its geographical footprint and position its fleet around the Atlantic Basin and the North Sea, hence it will relocate the two vessels in Australia after completion of the current contracts.
"The offshore vessel markets continue to improve and the energy transition continues to accelerate," the company said.
“Therefore, Maersk Supply Service will focus on building scale in these two business areas where the company can benefit from a young and energy efficient fleet, experienced crew as well as its unique and innovative concept for offshore wind turbine installation.”
Chief executive Christian Ingerslev said within offshore wind, governments are setting ever higher offshore wind targets and developers are moving quickly to secure ports, turbines and vessels to support these goals, while at the same time vigilantly keeping costs down.
“We have a unique and innovative design for offshore wind turbine installation that has the potential to revolutionise the way offshore wind farms are installed and help meet offshore wind targets faster. Our ambition is to play an active role in growing and accelerating the energy transition,” he said.
Ingerslev said Maersk Supply Service has been on a “transformational journey” since 2016 to explore new business opportunities after the downturn in the OSV market.
“The company has added many different areas to its business, all relevant at the time. Now it is time to select the areas with the highest potential for Maersk Supply Service,” he said.
