Updates throughout to add details on job cuts, outlook cut and Apex stake acquisition

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Swiss logistics group Kuehne+Nagel KNIN.S on Thursday reported a 34% drop in its third-quarter operating profit and said it was launching a cost-cutting programme, including job cuts, to combat margin pressures and overcapacity in the market.

Its earnings before interest and taxes fell to 285 million Swiss francs ($359 million) in the third quarter, from 455 million a year earlier. The company cited negative currency exchange effects and a sharp decline in transport volumes to the U.S. since President Donald Trump announced his "Liberation Day" tariffs.

K+N aims to cut costs by more than 200 million francs to cope with the tough market conditions, through measures such as greater use of automation and shared service centres, it said.

Between 1,000 and 1,500 full-time positions will be cut as part of the programme, a company spokesperson said. K+N employs 85,000 people in total.

The transport and logistics operator also cut its operating profit guidance for the second time this year. It now sees a profit of 1.3 billion francs in 2025, having previously forecast it in a range of 1.45 billion to 1.65 billion francs.

Separately, investment firm Partners Group PGHN.S said it had agreed to sell its 24.9% stake in Apex Logistics, an integrated global logistics solutions provider, to K+N which already owns a majority of the business.

The deal gives Apex an enterprise value of more than $4 billion.

($1 = 0.7931 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Simon Ferdinand Eibach and Anastasiia Kozlova in Gdansk, additional reporting by Oliver Hirt; editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)

((Anastasiia.Kozlova@thomsonreuters.com; SimonFerdinand.Eibach@thomsonreuters.com))