Booking Holdings sees expense reduction of $400M-$450M from efficiency steps

In a regulatory filing, Booking Holdings (BKNG) states: “On November 8, 2024, the Company announced its intention to implement certain organizational changes that are expected to improve operating expense efficiency, increase organizational agility, free up resources that can be reinvested into further improving its offering to travelers and partners, and better position the Company for the long term. We estimate that the Program will, over the coming three years, ultimately reduce annual run rate expenses by approximately $400 to $450 million versus our 2024 expense base. We expect the majority of these savings to come from changes across our brands such as modernizing processes and systems, optimizing procurement, and reducing real estate footprint, as well as approximately one-third from expected workforce reductions. We expect the majority of the estimated savings to be realized after 2025, and the annualized run rate savings do not reflect the aggregate expected costs to implement the Program. We believe these actions will help us towards our goal of growing fixed expenses slower than revenue in 2025 and improving efficiency across other operating expenses. We currently expect that restructuring costs and accelerated investments related to the Program will be incurred in the next two to three years and are estimated to be, in the aggregate, approximately one times the expected annual run rate saving. We anticipate these costs to primarily relate to expected workforce reductions, technology investments, and professional fees.”