HELSINKI (AP) -- Finnish metals group Outokumpu Oyj says it will slash 2,500 jobs worldwide in the next four years to cut costs by 350 million euros ($455 million) and improve profitability as stainless steel demand continues to fall.
The world's leading stainless steel maker says about a third of the job cuts will be applied this year, mostly in Germany, Sweden and Finland, in line with production capacity reductions and streamlining.
Outokumpu says it slid into a first-quarter net loss of 152 million euros from a slight profit a year earlier despite a 70 percent surge in revenue to 2.2 billion euros. Stainless steel deliveries fell 7 percent in the quarter to 703,000 tons.
Outokumpu stock was up more than 2 percent at 0.47 euros in Helsinki in Thursday afternoon trading.
