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Kuehne + Nagel tt 2,000 Jobs as War Pressures Markets
Global Conflict Tightens Capacity, Lifts Freight Rates as Forwarder Seeks Cost Savings
Key Takeaways:
- Kuehne + Nagel will cut more than 2,000 jobs to save 150 million francs as it reports slightly lower 2025 revenue of 24.5 billion francs.
- Analysts say Middle East conflict may tighten capacity and raise freight rates, supporting margins amid rising supply chain complexity.
- The layoffs expand an earlier cost reduction plan targeting at least 200 million francs in 2026, with white-collar roles most affected.
Kuehne + Nagel International AG plans to cut more than 2,000 jobs as it tackles a glut of capacity in the transportation market, even as the war on Iran makes the global cargo outlook more unpredictable.
The Swiss logistics services provider plans to save 150 million Swiss francs ($191 million) from the job cuts, it said on March 3 as it reported annual sales and profit. The full-year results were “broadly in line” with expectations, Vontobel analyst Michael Foeth said in a note. The company reported net revenue of 24.5 billion francs for 2025, down slightly from 24.8 billion francs a year earlier.
Kuehne + Nagel ranks No. 8 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America and No. 12 on the TT Top 50 list of the largest global freight companies.
The conflict in the Middle East creates further uncertainties, but Vontobel expects “tightening capacities and rising freight rates to support margins.”
While Kuehne + Nagel has grappled with challenges such as volatile demand created by U.S. tariffs and overcapacity, the disruptions caused by the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran will put the spotlight on how to avoid supply chain bottlenecks and may benefit the company.
“The whole issue of supply chain reliability will become more important,” CEO Stefan Paul told journalists on a March 3 conference call. With about 18% of global aviation capacity currently grounded, there will be backlogs and not enough aircraft flying, which increases complexity, Paul said.
Freight rates are set to rise amid supply chain disruptions, boosting revenue and earnings for Kuehne + Nagel and its peers, BI senior analysts Lee A. Klaskow and Aanchal Aich wrote in a note. “Shippers also tend to lean more heavily on forwarders when they need to find routing alternatives,” they said.
The layoffs are part of a cost reduction program announced in October 2025, which aims to save at least 200 million francs in 2026. The program initially aimed to cut 1,000 to 1,500 jobs before raising the figure to more than 2,000 full-time positions.
Kuehne + Nagel is mainly targeting white-collar office roles, as warehouse staffing has increased in response to growing demand, a spokesperson told Bloomberg. The company, based near Zurich, had 80,336 full-time employees at the end of 2025, up from 75,241 the year before.
