Originally published February 26 2006
Kraft restructures; lays off 8,000 employees
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The largest food manufacturer in the U.S., Kraft, announced it will cut 8 percent of its workforce, which translates to 8,000 Americans losing their jobs.
Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT), the largest U.S. food manufacturer, said Monday it would eliminate 8,000 more jobs, or about eight per cent of its work force, and close up to 20 production plants as it broadens an ongoing restructuring effort.
Kraft said the cuts would save an additional $700 million US in annual costs, atop a targeted $450 million in savings it already had hoped to achieve through a restructuring that began in January 2004.
Northfield-based Kraft already had announced closures of 19 production facilities and the elimination of 5,500 jobs.
The company said it intends to close plants in Broadmeadows, Victoria in Australia and Hoover, Ala., but did not announce the other facilities it plans to close.
Kraft said the additional cuts would cost the company $2.5 billion, bringing the total cost of its overall restructuring to $3.7 billion.
Kraft announced the moves Monday while reporting fourth-quarter earnings results that beat analysts' expectations.
Earnings for the October-December period totalled $773 million, or 46 cents a share, up from $628 million, or 37 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding 10 cents in restructuring charges, Kraft posted a 56 cent operating profit.
Wall Street had expected a profit of 53 cents a share, based on the consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
At the time, Kraft executives blamed the poor results on American consumers' increased health concerns, which had put the entire packaged food industry under severe pressure to change quickly.
The company's troubles cost marketing expert Betsy Holden her job of co-CEO and head of North American operations in December 2003.
Kraft (NYSE:KFT) had risen 71 cents, or 2.4 per cent, to close at $30 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Its shares added another 75 cents, or 2.5 per cent, in after-hours trading.
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