[Source: The Associated Press]

FedEx plans to cut up to 6,300 jobs in Europe as it completes the process of combining its own operation with that of a Dutch delivery company it bought in 2016.

FedEx said in a statement Tuesday that the cuts will take place over 18 months and include express-delivery operations and back-office employees of TNT Express across the continent.

Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx said severance payments for between 5,500 and 6,300 layoffs will cost between $300 million and $575 million through 2023, but that the job cuts will save the company between $275 million and $350 million a year beginning in 2024.

The president of FedEx’s European express-delivery operation, Karen Reddington, said in a statement that the job cuts are crucial to make the company more competitive in a changing market.

FedEx had about 245,000 employees worldwide, including about 43,000 at TNT, as of last May 31.

FedEx plans to downgrade an air-service hub in Liege, Belgium, to make Paris its sole primary hub.

The company compared that set-up to its U.S. operation, where Memphis is the main hub and Indianapolis serves a secondary role.