News / Ceva restructures as it integrates Bolloré – but will 'no job losses' pledge hold?

Ceva Logistics has announced a new vertically integrated structure as it combines Bolloré Logistics into its operations – but despite pledges of no job losses, rumours of a cull are circulating.

The group explained that Ceva’s new structure would see “vertical alignment of its product teams down to the local level”. These teams “are expected to accelerate Ceva’s ability to engineer new solutions and then apply them more quickly to customer challenges across all geographies”.

Ceva is also combining its air and sea operations, it added, “in order to capitalise on best practices and technology investments, notably in finalising its implementation of CargoWise”.

The rebranding process, which will see the Bolloré Logistics name abandoned, will be complete by the end of the year, added Ceva parent CMA CGM Group.

Ceva CEO Mathieu Friedberg said: “Ceva Logistics is moving to a vertical, product-driven organisation that will benefit our team and our customers as we compete among the top five of the logistics industry.”

CMA CGM’s €4.8bn acquisition of Bolloré in February saw it gain some 14,000 staff, but it pledged there would be no redundancies related to the acquisition for at least a year, despite the need for restructuring and network changes.

A spokesperson for the ocean shipping line told The Loadstar in March: “CMA CGM is committed to not cutting jobs in relation to the Bolloré Logistics deal for at least a year. Moreover, CMA CGM will maintain all the social benefits [of staff] for at least three years.”

However, sources have told Loadstar Premium that regional managers had been made redundant from Ceva Logistics recently. CMA CGM Group failed to respond to The Loadstar’s request for comment on this.

Ceva Logistics had been under some financial pressure, according to one former senior manager at the end of last year, who told The Loadstar: “Results and outlook are not good, and more effort is needed. The Bolloré deal has been delayed – it was supposed to be finalised this year.

“I would expect they are looking at the results and thinking the Bolloré deal could be a mistake. This is only my opinion though, but CMA/CEVA has made a number of acquisitions, none of them have gone particularly smoothly and most have put further financial pressure on the business, with either worse than expected results/performance or substantial additional costs that were unforeseen.”

The manager added that Ceva had hoped to boost its ocean results from the Red Sea crisis, which management thought could be an opportunity to get out of poorly performing contracts.

Another former employee noted on social media last month, about the Bolloré takeover: “There is nothing short of a cull on both sides and not pretty. Ceva HQ in Marseille has a lot of people skills to learn from some of the disgruntled management I know personally. Bolloré senior management is a notch above Ceva, and with a lot more feathers in their cap.”