The car importer Bertel O. Steen announce that they have cut 200 jobs. In the first quarter, they sold 33 percent fewer passenger cars than the year before.
Bertel O. Steen imports cars from German Daimler, French Groupe PSA and Korean Kia. The car importer states that a limited selection of electric cars and so-called plugin hybrids led to a significant fall in profits last year.
The start of 2019 has also been demanding. After the first four months of the year, sales of new passenger cars for Bertel O. Steen have been reduced by a total of 33.2 percent compared to the corresponding period last year, according to a press release from the company.
At the same time, the Norwegian passenger car market has grown by 3.9 percent.
“The goal is to reduce operating costs by NOK 200 million this year. In addition, we aim for a reduction of around 200 salaries through 2019, which will have full effect in 2020,” says CEO Bjørn Maarud.
He hopes to cut as much as possible via employment cessation and natural retirement, but he says that there will also be dismissals.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
