Wartsila has cut a further 550 jobs at its marine and energy solutions businesses to reflect the weak market situation, as part of an attempt to reap annual savings of EUR50m ($56.5m).

Out of the 500 job cuts, 270 will be in Finland, concentrating on the engine related R&D activities in the country with the aim of reducing development cycles.

The latest retrenchment follows the July 2015 announcement of the 600 job cuts from Wartsila’s marine solutions business, which was earlier called ship power division.

The effect of the anticipated annual savings of EUR50m will materialise gradually starting from the second quarter of 2016, and will take full effect by end-2017, Wartsila announced.

The company lamented that the marine market outlook continues to be challenging due to the combined effect of overcapacity of merchant ships and a continued lack of demand in the offshore segment. In addition, there are risks related to shipowners negotiating extensions to existing delivery contracts.

“These unfortunate capacity adjustments have to be made to maintain our competitive position in the global market. We will do our utmost to provide support for those individuals whose jobs will be affected by the streamlining,” said Jaakko Eskola, president and ceo of Wartsila.

Currently, Wartsila Marine Solutions employs 6,681 people globally and Wartsila Energy Solutions employs 958 people globally.