Colgate to shed 12 per cent of its workforce.(major restructuring plan at Colgate-Palmolive Co.)

Cosmetics International, December, 2004

Colgate-Palmolive may have achieved record third quarter operating profits for the second year running, but the announcement of a major, four-year restructuring plan belies a case of the jitters in the current economic climate.

Deemed necessary to help ensure 'continued solid worldwide growth in unit volume, sales and earnings per share', the plan will result in almost 4,500 job-losses (12 per cent of the current 37,000-strong global work force). The company plans to close around a third of its 78 factories worldwide to make way for regional manufacturing centres, and to consolidate its sales force in 'mature, slower-growing' markets.

Restructuring costs are expected to total between $550m and $650m after tax. Although projected after-tax savings for...

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