Chicago – Kraft Foods Inc., the nation’s largest food manufacturer, said Monday it would eliminate 8,000 more jobs, or about 8 percent of its workforce, and close up to 20 production plants as it broadens an ongoing restructuring effort.
Kraft said the cuts would save an additional $700 million in annual costs, on top of a targeted $450 million in savings it had hoped to achieve through a restructuring that began in January 2004.
Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft already had announced closures of 19 production facilities and the elimination of 5,500 jobs. Kraft said Monday that those efforts are on track but that it is expanding the restructuring plans to include more cuts.
The company intends to close plants in Broadmeadows, Victoria, Australia, and Hoover, Ala., but did not announce other facilities it plans to close. Kraft also said it would trim 10 percent of its brand portfolio.
The additional cuts would cost the company $2.5 billion, bringing the total cost of its restructuring to $3.7 billion, Kraft said.
The maker of Kraft cheese, Nabisco crackers, Oscar Meyer meats and Post cereals announced the moves while reporting fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ expectations. Earnings for the October-December period totaled $773 million (46 cents a share), up from $628 million (37 cents a share) a year earlier. Revenue rose to $9.66 billion, from $8.78 billion a year ago.
