Express delivery company TNT Express expects to cut its workforce by 4,000 over the next three years, the company said on Monday.

The job losses are part of a new strategy designed to boost the company’s profitability. This involves focusing efforts on Europe and divesting activities in Brazil and China, as announced earlier. The Chinese sale should be finalised soon, the company said.

The restructuring will cost an estimated €150m but will generate cost savings of €220m by 2015. The reorganisation has been prompted by the continuing economic uncertainty, TNT said in a statement.

Profits

TNT aims to boost its fortunes by focusing on customers and segments where the profit margins are good, and by centralising administration and services. The management structure will also be overhauled and €200m spent on improving information technology.

‘Assuming a return to normal economic conditions in Europe… [TNT] could see an adjusted operating income margin of around 8% and sales growth for the period of around 2%,’ the company stated.

TNT Express posted a loss of €81m in 2012 on turnover of €7.3bn. At the beginning of this year, the European Commission finally called a halt on competition grounds to TNT Express’s plans to merge with UPS.

Unions said in a reaction they were expecting job losses, which they expect will be mainly confined to the company’s head offices. TNT has a global workforce of 75,000.