DHL Freight has laid off employees in Denmark following Vestas’ exclusive deal with DSV Panalpina to execute and manage all of the manufacturer’s general freight and special project transportation. 

Danish media report that about 10 of the 90 employees at DHL’s office in Padborg have been sent home. Managing director Ole Mørk confirmed the layoffs but refused to say how many positions have been cut. “It is correct that we have had to adapt our organization to the situation. As this is an internal affair, I do not wish to comment further”, Mørk told Shippingwatch.

DSV Panalpina last week announced it has signed a major logistics agreement with Vestas to handle all of the general freight and special project transportation of the turbine manufacturer, meaning transport companies will not deal with Vestas directly anymore. With that arrangement, Vestas wants to simplify its supply chain while it focuses on scaling up its business to meet the growing wind energy demands.

“Combined with the increasing size of wind turbines, the global demand for wind energy is making logistics and transportation more complicated and we, therefore, must scale our business efficiently”, commented Henrik Andersen, Vestas Group President and CEO, on the logistics agreement with DSV Panalpina.

Large volume

The agreement covers both inbound and outbound shipments and adds substantial cargo volume to DSV Panalina’s portfolio. “As one of the largest wind turbine manufacturers in the world, Vestas has around 500,000 inbound shipments a year and uses more than 900 vessels annually”, the company stated.

For competing freight forwarders, the agreement means that there will be less cargo available in the market. Next to DHL, Blue Water Shipping, Deugro and Scan Global Logistics are also said to be affected. Scan Global confirmed to Shippingwatch that it has moved cargo for Vestas in the past but said that in the grand scheme of things, it was a smaller part of the business.

The exclusive freight deal between DSV Panalpina and Vestas has a duration of three years with an option to extend.