Thirty to 40 jobs will be lost at Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. headquarters in Somers as part of a global restructuring initiative announced last week.
The company, the world’s largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages with annual sales of nearly $14 billion, has about 1,100 employees at its One Pepsi Way facility in northern Westchester County, said corporate spokesman Jeff Dahncke. It has nearly 70,000 employees worldwide. Â
Company officials said the multi-year program, called Structured to Succeed, is designed to strengthen Pepsi Bottling”™s customer service and selling effectiveness, simplify decision-making and streamline the organization, drive greater cost productivity to adapt to current macroeconomic challenges and improve the company’s supply-chain infrastructure.
The cost of the program is projected to result in cumulative charges totaling $140 million to $170 million. The initiative is expected to result in annual pre-tax savings of approximately $150 million to $160 million when completed, with an anticipated savings of at least $70 million in 2009. A pre-tax charge of $80 million to $100 million, or 27 cents to 32 cents per diluted share after-tax, is projected for the fourth quarter of this year.
About 750 jobs are expected to be cut in the U.S. and Canada. The company will close four of its U.S. facilities, starting with a production plant in Wilmington, Delaware.
Its operations in Europe and Mexico also will be affected. In Europe, about 200 jobs will be trimmed. In Mexico, about 2,200 jobs will be cut and three plants and about 30 distribution centers closed.
The company over the next several years also will modify its defined benefit pension plans to generate long-term savings and significantly reduce future financial obligations. While pension options are explored, “We have a number of decisions still ahead of us and will act in a manner that protects the best interests of our employees and our business,” Dahncke said.
