Dairy cooperative FrieslandCampina is cutting 900 jobs in the Netherlands as part of a major overhaul which will reduce the global workforce by 1,800.

The jobs will go across all parts of the operation. “This is a difficult day for FrieslandCampina,” said chief executive Jan Derck van Karnebeek. “We are announcing difficult but necessary steps to reduce our costs permanently. We realise that the job losses will have a major impact on those involved.”

The company, which is headquartered in Amersfoort, said in October that it would be reorganising, but at the time it was not clear how many jobs were at risk.

FrieslandCampina hopes the changes will result in annual savings of between €400 million and €500 million a year by 2026. “These cost savings should contribute to FrieslandCampina’s ability to compete and win in the market for the benefit of our employees and member dairy farmers,” Van Karnebeek said.

The company has a total workforce of some 22,000, most of whom are in Europe. The company is a cooperative owned by some 15,000 dairy farmers in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

In 2020, the dairy giant cut 1,000 jobs, blaming the direct and indirect impact of coronavirus and pressure on profit margins in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The company’s brands include Fristi, Chocomel and Friese Vlag.

The company also said on Tuesday that due to the disappointing financial results in 2023 and €170 million in one-off costs for the reorganisation, no supplementary cash payment will be made to member dairy farmers for this year.