STOCKHOLM, Sweden — The SKF Group has announced plans to implement further restructuring and cost-reduction activities to adapt its overall capacity to market conditions. This will effect a number of operations and involve a reduction of around 450 people, of which about 300 are in the Industrial Division and the majority of the rest are in the Automotive Division. Main countries affected are Germany, Italy and Sweden.

The total cost for the restructuring activities, which will be charged to SKF’s income statement in the fourth quarter 2009, will be around SEK 400 million (approximately $55 million). Of this amount around SEK 200 million (approximately $27 million) concerns the Industrial Division and around SEK 150 million (approximately $20.5 million) concerns the Automotive Division.

The benefit of the new actions will be around SEK 250 million (approximately $34 million) per year when fully implemented by mid-2011.