Husqvarna AB (HUSQB), the world’s biggest maker of powered garden tools, plans to cut about 600 jobs in a move that will save 220 million kronor ($33 million) a year by 2014.

“The proposed measures aim to improve efficiency, reduce the fixed cost base and further increase flexibility,” Chief Executive Officer Hans Linnarson said in a statement.

Almost half the job losses will come in Sweden, mainly in Huskvarna, where the company is based, it said. The cuts will be carried out during the first six months of next year after negotiations with unions. The cuts will cost about 250 million kronor to implement, which will be charged to fourth-quarter operating income, the company said.

The maker of lawnmowers, chainsaws and other tools under the McCulloch, Gardena and Husqvarna brands has seen its shares rise 26 percent this year in Stockholm, compared with an 9.1 percent increase in the Stockholm SAX index.

The company, with about 15,860 employees at the end of the third quarter, has about 40 percent of its sales in the Americas and said Oct. 26 that demand there and in Europe continued to be challenging during the third quarter.