Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Carlsberg A/S, the Nordic region’s biggest brewer, plans to cut 274 jobs in Denmark and the Baltic states and reduce staffing in Norway as a response to slowing markets in northern and western Europe.

The brewer will eliminate 150 jobs in Denmark and 124 posts in the Baltic region, the Valby, Denmark-based company said today in a statement. In Norway, Carlsberg plans “significant cost and manning reductions,” it said, without being more specific.

“Those markets are still profitable, but we need to need to become more efficient to improve profitability,” Chief Executive Officer Joergen Buhl Rasmussen said in an interview today. “It’s hard to predict what’s going to happen in the next six months and I want to make sure Carlsberg is ready.”

The job cuts will start to take place in the first quarter of 2009 and follow similar steps being taken in countries such as France, the U.K. and Italy. Carlsberg lowered its full-year earnings and sales forecasts in November as economies weakened.

The brewer said a slowdown in Russian demand this year won’t affect the market’s long-term profitability. Rival SABMiller Plc today said beer shipments in the country dropped 22 percent in the three months through December.

“Conditions in Russia will get tough in 2009, but this is also an opportunity for us to take share,” Rasmussen said. “We’re not in it for the short-term.” Fourth-quarter sales in Russia will be “flat” from a year earlier, he said.

Acquisition Search

Carlsberg will continue to seek acquisitions in Asia, though any investment in the immediate future will not be significant, Rasmussen said. A bid for the beer unit of Foster’s Group Ltd. is “unlikely,” he added.

Also today, Carlsberg announced two additions to its executive committee. Coca-Cola Co.’s Khalil Younes will join as senior vice president for group innovation, sales & marketing, while L’Oreal SA’s Nils Ostbirk will become senior vice president for western Europe, replacing Jan Hillesland and Alex Myers.

The company also announced the departure of Jesper B. Madsen, who was responsible for the brewer’s Asia division. A search for his successor is underway, Carlsberg said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Meera Bhatia in Oslo at mbhatia2@bloomberg.net; Andrew Cleary in London at acleary7@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 15, 2009 07:37 EST