RIGA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Latvian national rail company Latvijas Dzelzcels (LDz) is planning to lay off around 1,500 employees by the end of this year, the company's representative said on Thursday.

LDz spokeswoman Ella Petermane said that the layoffs are necessitated by a number of challenges the rail company and the Baltic country's economy faced in 2019, including a drop in rail freight amid falling fossils prices in global markets.

"In order to ensure a more modern and customer-friendly business model, as well as to save the company's costs and increase efficiency, LDz has been revising all its functions and organizational processes, as well as cutting expenditure already since summer 2019," the rail company's CEO Maris Kleinbergs said.

Considering the negative trends in the rail freight segment and the need to streamline the company's operations in order to balance its finances, LDz plans to lay off around 1,500 employees by the end of 2020.

The job cuts, which LDz said will first of all target the company's managerial positions, are planned in several stages throughout the year.

At the beginning of 2020, LDz had 6,265 employees, while the whole LDz Group employed 9,950 people.

Latvijas Dzelzcels is a state-owned railway group, comprising parent company Latvijas Dzelzcels, which manages Latvia's railway infrastructure, as well as six subsidiaries. Enditem

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