Norway's Williksen Group restructures seafood division: job cuts and cost reduction, betting on fillet production line

Williksen-konsernet, a seafood company based in Rørvik, Norway, announced on 11 November 2026 a strategic restructuring of its seafood business: cutting costs and reducing administrative positions on the one hand, while adding staff for its fillet production line on the other, with fillet production set as the focus for 2027.

Ståle Ramstad, General Manager of Williksen Export, said in a press release that fillets are a strategic investment for Williksen; by developing and owning its own products, the company can control the value chain, strengthen its differentiation capabilities, and be rewarded accordingly for the quality it delivers. He described the market environment as difficult, but said there are clear opportunities among customers who value predictability and high quality, and that own products put the company in a stronger position, which is why it is staffing the fillet production line and hiring more people in production.

The restructuring includes several specific measures: the business of purchasing whole salmon for Korea is transferred from Williksen Export to its Korean sister company WinWin Seafood Corporation; Williksen Export's whitefish trading business is closed; administrative positions such as accounting are centralized and headcount reduced, which the company says is directly related to current technological developments; Williksen Export, Williksen Processing and Williksen Industri are merged into one company; and Williksen Fangst becomes a pure holding company with no employees. Williksen Export and WinWin Seafood are both wholly owned subsidiaries of Williksen Forvaltning.

The company's explanation for the restructuring is that the financial performance of the seafood business as a whole, and of Williksen Export in particular, has long been too weak and is not economically sustainable, and that measures must be taken to improve profitability; therefore, while investing aggressively in some areas, it is cutting back in others.

Anders Øien Paulsen, General Manager of Williksen Forvaltning, said the financial results are disappointing, that the company takes responsibility for them, and that it is now taking strong measures to improve performance.

According to the company's plan, the expansion of staffing on the fillet production line and the recruitment of production positions will proceed alongside the restructuring, with fillet production positioned as the investment focus for 2027.