H1 results force Lego to cut 1,400 jobs

Danish toy maker Lego will cut 1,400 jobs, or about eight percent of its global workforce, after reporting a decline in sales and profits in the first half of 2017.

The privately held company said yesterday that its revenue dropped 5 percent to 14.9 billion kroner (US$2.4 billion) in the first six months of the year. Profits slipped 3 percent to 3.4 billion kroner. It said it “now prepares to reset the company.”

“We are disappointed by the decline in revenue in our established markets, and we have taken steps to address this,” said Chairman Joergen Vig Knudstorp.

He said the long-term aim is to reach “more children in our well-established markets in Europe and the United States,” and added there were “strong growth opportunities in growing markets such as China.”

Lego, which he described as an “increasingly complex organization,” needed to simplify its business model and cut its costs.

Last month, the maker of the famous colored building blocks appointed Niels B. Christiansen, who headed thermostat-maker Danfoss for nine years, as its chief executive to replace interim British CEO Bali Padda. Christiansen will start October 1.

Based in western Denmark, the group has over 19,000 employees around the world.