STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Swedish truck maker Scania on Tuesday reported a 44 percent drop in earnings as sales and order bookings slumped in the fourth quarter, and said it would slash 2,000 jobs to cut costs.
Net profit in the last three months of the year was 1.52 billion kronor ($182 million), down from 2.7 billion kronor in the same period in 2007, Scania said.
Sales dropped 8 percent to 22.6 billion kronor from 24.5 billion kronor a year earlier.
Scania said it would trim its work force from 12,000 to 10,000 by laying off 2,000 workers on temporary contracts by the end of the first quarter of 2009.
The company said it was also postponing investments in machinery, equipment and development projects and slashing some outside consultants to cut costs.
Scania was hit by a slump in demand in the second half of 2008 because of the global financial turbulence. Order bookings in the fourth quarter nose-dived to 2,400 from 26,000 in the same period a year earlier, the company said.