Shanghai: A.P. Moller - Maersk has revealed plans for a phased shut down of a global service centre at China's Guangzhou, which will result in the elimination of about 700 jobs. The company has attributed the move to the global economic slowdown, which it states, "has affected our business volumes, as well as our ongoing effort to improve our systems and processes, especially over the past 12 months.
"This difficult decision was made to ensure that the A.P. Moller - Maersk global service centre's global operations remain competitive and cost effective while meeting core business requirements," the company said, maintaining that there will be no disruption to its customer services.
A number of employees from the Guangzhou are expected to be transferred over to Maersk's only other Chinese service centre in Shenzhen. "A.P. Moller - Maersk is committed to do what we can to find alternative jobs for others affected by this move, including short-term secondments, cross-postings or redeployment in other business units elsewhere within our network. Those staff, to whom we cannot offer alternative employment, will be given a severance package, which is fully compliant with both Chinese law and industry best practices, and above legal requirements," the company said. [10/11/08]
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