Another well-known freight forwarder announced: closure of offices and layoffs...

Currently, the global market is shrouded in the shadow of weak demand, and companies are facing pressure to transform and upgrade, reduce costs and increase efficiency in order to grow or even survive. This trend is spreading to the global logistics supply chain field.
According to foreign media reports, Forto, another well-known digital freight forwarder, recently closed its offices in Bremen and Madrid after laying off about 10% of its employees earlier this year. Forto is Europe's first fully digital freight forwarding company.
The closure of the Madrid office means it no longer operates in Spain, and with the reported closure of the Bremen office, the move means at least 75 job losses.

The report also said that Forto's chief commercial officer Jochen Freese, who has worked for Ceva, Hellmann and UTi, will retire early and will be replaced by Forto's head of strategy Fabian Struck.
Earlier this month, Freese said Forto's "800" employees were "key to enabling customers to use digital tools and personalized customer service." But he gave no indication of problems within the company.
In January, after Forto laid off about 90 people, an insider told the outlet that further layoffs were unlikely, adding: "The executive leadership team assured employees that following this process, Forto was lean enough to survive." Difficulties.

It is understood that Forto was founded in 2016, when the startup was still called Freighthub. The founders developed a logistics platform designed to serve as an interface for various processes. Customers can use it to get and book quotes and track their shipments with real-time tracking.
Forto is committed to making the transportation of goods simpler and more certain, while helping the logistics industry become more sustainable. The company operates globally, with offices in Europe and Asia, currently in Tianjin, Ningbo, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Naples, Milan Warsaw, Munich, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Rotterdam, Hamburg, There are offices in Singapore and Hong Kong.

It is reported that Forto has previously raised US0 million in eight rounds of financing. The most recent round of financing was in 2022, which raised US0 million. Maersk also participated in the company.
Poor market conditions without a peak season this year may have a greater impact on the company than expected. In fact, Forto is not alone. Another well-known digital freight forwarder, Flexport, also recently announced 20% of its global layoffs, and Indian digital freight forwarder FreightWalla collapsed in June...