TomTom layoff wave in twenty countries, chance of ‘a few dozen jobs’ in the Netherlands | Financial

TomTom has invested heavily in automation in the business unit that makes maps in recent years. As a result, maps that TomTom supplies to car manufacturers can be updated faster than before. “These better cards will enhance our product offering and allow us to tap into a larger market,” said Goddijn. But fewer people are needed to achieve this.

According to a TomTom spokesperson, talks about the reorganization are still ongoing. It concerns employees spread over twenty countries. That is why he cannot yet say how many jobs will disappear per country. Reports are circulating within TomTom that there are a few dozen jobs in the Netherlands.

The tech company does not rule out compulsory redundancies. “We will of course do everything we can to see if we can find something else for those people internally or externally,” said a spokesperson. “But you never know for sure in advance whether that will work for everyone.”

TomTom, once a stock market favourite, has been struggling for years to change the beacons as a maker of navigation boxes to that of a data supplier to car manufacturers. In the first three months of this year, the company saw its turnover fall, partly as a result of the worldwide chip shortage, by 2% to €128 million. At the same time, costs rose due to investments in automation, among other things. This left a gross quarterly loss of €20 million at the bottom.