Saying that the company will not reach its previous outlook for 2008, Swedish appliance maker Electrolux AB plans to lay off more than 3,000 staff globally. This decision comes largely because of the sharp fall in the demand for the company’s appliances in Europe and North America, in the last two weeks of November.

Electrolux said it was “no longer possible” to achieve an operating profit of 3.3 to 3.9 billion kronor ($415 to 491 million) in 2008, as was previously expected.

The company’s official statement said: “In light of the sharp market decline, Electrolux is reducing the number of employees by more than 3,000 in the fourth quarter of 2008 and in 2009. As a result of weakening demand for appliances in the two last weeks of November, and in December, Electrolux will not reach its outlook for the full year of 2008”.

As a result of the measures, the company said it expects to save 1.1 billion kronor ($137 million) a year from 2010. However, it not clear as to how the Electrolux employees in Sweden will be affected by the cuts.

Electrolux spokesperson Anders Edholm told the TT news agency that the proposed cuts would have an effect on Swedish operations, but exactly how big it would be has not yet been ascertained. However, Edholm added that there will be more white-collar workers who will leave than the blue-collar workers, and that would be the case even in the headquarters.