Maersk Cuts Jobs as Freight Rates Slide Further

A.P. Moller-Maersk is eliminating about 1,000 corporate roles, roughly 17% of its 6,000‑strong headquarters and white‑collar workforce, as part of a renewed cost‑cutting drive in response to falling container freight rates and trade volatility. The reduction equates to less than 1% of the group’s more than 107,000 employees but is expected to cut corporate expenses by about $180 million annually.

The move follows a sharp deterioration in Maersk’s fourth‑quarter performance. Total revenue fell 8.7% year over year to $13.3 billion, while the company swung to a net loss of $27 million. Pre‑tax profit dropped 94% to $118 million, a decline Maersk linked primarily to weaker pricing in its core ocean shipping business.

Average freight rates declined 23% from a year earlier and 8.8% sequentially to $2,046 per 40‑foot container. Management estimated the drop in pricing had a $2.1 billion negative impact on results. Maersk cited “continued trade volatility” and “increasing supply overcapacity” as key drivers, noting that average deployed fleet capacity rose 4.3% to 4.6 million twenty‑foot equivalent units.

Near‑term indicators suggest additional softening in spot freight markets. Drewry’s World Container Index showed ocean spot rates at $1,959 per 40‑foot container in the latest week, down 7% from the prior week and roughly flat compared with early November and December. Weak demand ahead of expected factory shutdowns for the Lunar New Year in China has prompted more blank sailings, and Drewry projects further spot rate declines in the coming weeks.

Maersk chief executive Vincent Clerc told investors the company expects container shipping rates to “develop adversely” throughout 2026. He said the trajectory will depend in part on how quickly major carriers resume transits via the Red Sea and Suez Canal after recent disruptions, which have forced longer rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope and temporarily absorbed capacity.

Maersk has already begun returning some services to the Suez route, including its weekly India‑to‑U.S. MECL service in January. Together with Gemini Cooperation partner Hapag‑Lloyd, it is also shifting an India‑to‑Mediterranean loop back through the Red Sea this month. The company estimates the change will shorten transit times by 19 days on those lanes, but warns that reduced sailing time also effectively increases capacity and may add to downward pressure on rates.

Clerc said Maersk’s 2026 guidance incorporates a range of scenarios for a broader Red Sea normalization. A rapid, full return to the Suez corridor could depress rates more quickly by restoring capacity “at once,” he noted, while a slower, more orderly reopening might allow carriers to manage the transition and pricing more gradually.

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, another major Danish multinational, is contending with mounting pressures in its U.S. business even as demand for its obesity and diabetes treatments remains strong. The company recently disclosed multiple transactions by board members and senior executives involving transfers and sales of Novo Nordisk B shares under its long‑term incentive program, including sales to cover tax liabilities.

Separately, Novo Nordisk said it would pursue legal and regulatory action against U.S. telehealth firm Hims & Hers over compounded versions of its new oral formulation of Wegovy, its blockbuster weight‑loss medicine. Novo Nordisk accused the company of offering copycat GLP‑1 products after temporary U.S. rules allowing compounding of semaglutide‑based drugs expired in May 2025, and said it aims to protect patients, its intellectual property and the integrity of the U.S. drug approval framework.

The disputes come as Novo Nordisk’s shares have fallen following guidance that U.S. revenue growth will slow due to intensified competition and pricing pressure. The company noted this week that lower U.S. sales revenue is expected as rivals push down prices in the high‑growth obesity and diabetes markets.

U.S. pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly is taking a different strategic tack, discontinuing three development programs that failed to deliver sufficient efficacy while simultaneously raising its medium‑term revenue targets. The company has terminated development of LY3884963, a gene therapy for frontotemporal dementia with progranulin mutations acquired through its $1 billion Prevail Therapeutics deal, after finding “no compelling efficacy” in the studied patient population. Lilly said safety was not a concern and that enrolled subjects will continue protocol‑defined safety follow‑up.

Lilly is also halting work on LY3541860, an anti‑CD19 antibody tested in relapsing multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, and AC‑225‑PSMA‑62, a radioligand therapy in early‑stage development for prostate cancer. A company spokesperson said both programs were discontinued due to efficacy concerns rather than safety issues. All three assets were excluded from Lilly’s fourth‑quarter 2025 pipeline presentation.

On the same day it announced the pipeline changes, Lilly said it expects revenue between $80 billion and $83 billion in 2026, up from $65.2 billion in 2025 and $45 billion in 2024. The company highlighted the anticipated market entry of obesity drug orforglipron and reported that its share price rose 7.1% after the updated outlook. Lilly said it plans to leverage insights from the discontinued programs in future research aligned with its strategic priorities.