Press reports suggest that FedEx's voluntary redundancy programme has accounted for 10% of the company's senior management. Local press sources state that over 20 vice-presidents and managing directors will be leaving the company, although this has not been confirmed by FedEx to Transport Intelligence at the time of publication.

The move is being described as a "buyout" programme and is assumed to be part of a cost reduction plan announced in October 2012. The objective of the scheme is to achieve an "annual profitability improvement of $1.7bn during the next three years, with a significant portion of the benefits achieved by fiscal 2015". The reductions were to be focused on FedEx Express and FedEx Services and were in addition to further cost control measures at FedEx Freight and FedEx Ground.

The news service Bloomberg quoted a FedEx spokesman who described the loss of jobs as a move to a new organisational structure, but would not confirm the number of jobs to be lost. It appears that the offers of voluntary redundancy will be extended to other parts of the workforce from the middle of this month.

Bloomberg linked the redundancy move to the shift from airfreight to sea and road transport by major shippers; however this has not been confirmed. Fred Smith, FedEx's founder and CEO said in an explanation in October that the costs reduction strategy was "closely tied to effective yield management" and "[the] key is striking the right balance between volume growth and yield improvements. With slow economic growth, however, the cost reduction programmes are essential to achieve our financial goals."

During February, Damco will move its headquarters from Copenhagen in Denmark to The Hague in the Netherlands. At the same time, Damco will carry out several management changes on a senior level. 

Having spent more than 10 years in China, Steffen Schiottz-Christensen has been announced as the new CEO for Damco's Africa and Middle East region. He will be based in Cape Town and will succeed Nils Havsager, who has moved to a position as Global COO. Havsager will be based in the new global headquarters in The Hague.

Peter Kjaer Jensen will transition from the Global COO role to the position of Global Chief Transformation Officer (CTO), which includes the responsibility for all IT projects. Kjaer Jensen will continue to be based in Copenhagen.

Meanwhile, Global Head of HR Karsten Breum has taken over the role as CEO for Damco's Asia Pacific region from Tony Hotine, and will be based in Singapore.

Damco announced that Marco Mingolla, who previously held the role as Head of HR Operations within Maersk Line, has taken over Breum's position and will be based in The Hague.

Paul Helminger has been appointed Cargolux Airlines' new chairman of the board of directors.

The announcement follows the resignation of Albert Wildgen in November 2011, when Qatar Airways relinquished its 35% stake in the all-cargo airline. Wildgen only held the position for a total of ten months.

Luxembourg's government has temporarily acquired the Middle East carrier's stake until a new long-term shareholder can be found.