Hawai'i's largest ocean transportation firm, Matson Navigation Co., yesterday said it plans to cut 10 percent of its nonunion workforce, or about 60 people, to align expenses with declining business.

The company, a unit of Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin Inc., employs about 845 people, though only about 600 are in nonunion positions affected by the reduction effort.

Matson's move comes after the company instituted hiring freezes over the last two years, and follows other large Hawai'i companies that began major layoffs last year as the local economy began to contract.

The job losses at Matson are the latest in a string of layoffs locally over the past year, including 1,900 people at Aloha Airlines; 274 at Maui Land & Pineapple; 169 at Hawaii Medical Center; 130 at DFS Group; 120 at Molokai Ranch; 118 at Servo Pacific; 91 at The Honolulu Advertiser; 85 at Weyerhaeuser Co.; 70 at Hawaiian Dredging; and 38 at Palama Meat Co.