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August 20th, 2013

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State-owned energy company DONG announced this morning that it would be firing up to 400 employees.

The decision follows the company’s strategy for 2020, which was presented in February and is designed to strengthen the company’s competitive ability by simplifying its structure and processes.

Between 300 and 400 jobs will be cut in an effort to save the company around 300 million kroner a year.

The job losses arrive less than a year after the last round of dismissals in November last year when around 300 employees lost their jobs.

“Strengthening DONG Energy’s competitive ability in an energy sector that is undergoing a comprehensive and challenging transition of both energy systems and business foundation is tough but necessary,” DONG's head of group, Henrik Poulsen, told Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

DONG stated that it was too early to say which roles would be lost among the 6,600 employees, though the company said it was likely that positions within so-called 'staff functions' and wind and thermal energy would be lost.

DONG performed slightly worse in the first six months of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012, earning 400 million kroner after tax compared to around 700 million kroner the year before.

However, the company’s earnings before tax, investments and depreciation (so-called ‘EBITDA’) in the first six months of 2013 were 7.8 billion kroner, compared to 6.6 billion kroner in the same period of 2012.

DONG notes in its accounts that the higher earnings are due to increased income from wind activity along with lower costs.

“The result for the first six months is a good step in the right direction for DONG,” Poulsen said. “The group’s EBITDA earnings rose 18 percent compared to the first six months of 2012. The improvement is primarily driven by income from the new offshore wind farms – Anholt and London Array – as well as cost reductions.”