Klaus-Michael Kuehne expects contraction for KN
In an interview with the German daily newspaper "Die Welt" Klaus-Michael Kuehne, majority shareholder at Kuehne + Nagel, discussed the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Kuehne + Nagel may have 20-25% fewer employees after the crisis, he said. Currently, the global logistics services provider employs a workforce of around 83,000 people.
The US market could be particularly affected, since, in contrast to Germany and other European countries, the USA does not have the short-time work option.
While Kuehne + Nagel had a good first quarter this year, transport volumes plummeted as from the beginning of April, Kuehne explained. Now it is crucial to restart and revive the economy as from June 2020, he added.
But Kuehne also expects that his company, which is headquartered in Switzerland, will be negatively affected by the crisis. "We will come out of the crisis smaller than we were before," Kuehne concluded in the interview. (mw)