Ruukki Construction, part of Nordic and US-based steel company SSAB, is streamlining operations and reducing costs in the light of persistently weak demand in the construction sector, SSAB said June 27.
Ruukki has presence in 10 European countries and the market situation in all of them has been weak for some time with no signs of improvement in the short term, yet the division aims to improve the operating efficiency by adjusting its cost structure and streamlining the organization, the company said in a statement.
Specifically, Ruukki Construction is targeting annual cost savings of Eur15 million ($16 million) by the end of 2023 that could lead to a reduction of 200 positions among its 1,500 strong personnel in the Nordics, Baltics and Central Eastern Europe, according to the statement.
“Demand for building products is weak in all of our operating countries. To ensure our competitiveness in this difficult situation, we have to adjust our cost structure in all countries,” Ruukki Construction President Sami Eronen said in the statement.
Ruukki Construction, that offers steel-based building products and services, shipped 1.33 million mt of products in January-March, seeing a more pronounced-than-normal downturn versus the fourth quarter, and SSAB did not expect the construction industry in Europe to bump back even in H2 2023 as its recovery is now hampered by high interest rates, S&P Global Commodity Insights reported.
Author Ekaterina Bouckley
