Building downturn hits Sweden’s Skanska

The slump in the European housing market has headed north, and spread to commercial and civil building in Scandinavia. Sweden’s biggest construction company Skanska is cutting around 3,400 jobs in Nordic countries, predicting a 15 per cent fall in orders in the region this coming year. And the downbeat forecast comes despite plans from the Swedish government to step up spending on the country’s infrastructure. About 2,000 jobs will go in Sweden, 800 in Norway and 600 in Finland. Scandinavia accounts for 40 per cent of Skanska’s revenue – the company believes there will be a smaller decline in markets outside its home base.

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