(RTTNews) – Packaged foods company General Mills Inc. said Tuesday that it expects to cut another 700 to 800 jobs, primarily in the U.S., as part of a multi-year restructuring plan. This is in addition to job cuts announced by the company in mid-September.
In a regulatory filing, General Mills said that under Project Catalyst, a restructuring plan designed to increase organization effectiveness and reduce overhead expense, it will eliminate about 700 to 800 positions.
General Mills had announced some restructuring actions on September 18, but was unable to determine the estimates total costs to be incurred in connection with Project Catalyst at that time.
The company had said at that time that under Project Century, it will close two plants to cut costs, leading to the elimination of about 680 jobs.
Under the Project Century restructuring program, the company plans to consolidate its yogurt manufacturing capacity and exit the Methuen, Massachusetts facility in the U.S. Retail and Convenience Stores and Foodservice supply chains. The company will also close its Lodi, California facility plant to eliminate excess cereal and dry mix capacity in its U.S. Retail supply chain.
General Mills said Tuesday that it will record total restructuring charges of about $135 million to $160 million pre-tax, primarily reflecting one-time employee termination benefits. Of this, about $110 million to $135 million will result in future cash expenditures.
General Mills expects to complete the restructuring actions by the end of fiscal 2015 and generate annual cost savings of about $125 million to $150 million, beginning in fiscal 2016. In fiscal 2015, the company expects these actions and other efforts to reduce overhead costs and generate about $40 million of savings.
The company noted that these estimates are separate from the estimates it provided previously in connection with the Project Century North American supply chain restructuring plan.
GIS closed Tuesday’s trading at $50.45, down $0.18 or 0.36 percent on a volume of 2.82 million shares.
