Danish dairy co-op Arla has announced 140 redundancies, mostly at its head office in Denmark and smaller numbers at administrative offices in Europe and North America, as it continues toward €400m in cost savings by the end of 2020.

This week’s announcement follows a previous batch of 195 redundancies across a range of corporate functions such as finance, legal and information technology, as well as 154 job cuts in cheese processing in the UK. Those job losses were announced in May.

Known as the Calcium Efficiency programme, Arla expects its €400m cost cutting drive over the next three years to boost farmer milk prices in the years ahead. For 2018, Arla said it expects the cost-cutting programme will add €50m to the total amount it pays out to its 11,200 farmer suppliers for milk. This equates to an additional €4,465 in 2018 for the average Arla farmer.

Arla chief executive Peder Tuborgh said the cost cutting programme will create a “simpler and stronger” model for the co-op going forward.

“We are doing this to create a long-term transformation of our company and to reinstate our international competitiveness when it comes to the milk price we pay to our farmers,” said Tuborgh.

“The changes we are announcing today will create a simpler and stronger marketing model for our brands, allowing us to faster address local needs both in our European core markets and our newer markets in Asia and Africa,” he added.