Energizer announces restructuring program

Energizer Holdings has announced a multi-year restructuring plan designed to save the company approximately $200 million, improve profitability and drive long-term growth. The St. Louis, Mo.-based manufacturer expects that a substantial portion of the actions necessary to achieve the targeted savings should be completed by the end of fiscal 2014 and the total savings are expected to be fully realized in fiscal 2015.

These actions are expected to reduce the global workforce by more than 10%, or approximately 1,500 workers. The initiatives to be undertaken include:

Rationalize and streamline operations facilities in the household products division:

• Close Maryville, Mo., battery manufacturing facility;

• Close St. Albans, Vt., battery manufacturing facility;

• Close Tampoi, Malaysia, battery packaging facility;

• Streamline Asheboro, N.C., battery manufacturing and packaging facilities;

• Streamline Walkerton, Canada, packaging facility;

• Streamline lights manufacturing in China;

• Consolidate G&A functional support across the organization;

• Streamline the household products division product portfolio to enable increased focus on the core battery business;

• Streamline the marketing organization within the household products division;

• Optimize the go-to-market strategies and organization structures within the international markets;

• Reduce overhead spending including changes to benefit programs and other targeted spending reductions; and

• Create a center-led purchasing function to drive procurement savings.

The company said it is also looking at its international footprint, legal entity structure and global delivery of transactional services to identify and assess additional scale efficiencies. These assessments will be completed in the coming months.

Ward Klein, Energizer’s CEO, said in a prepared statement: "We believe that these changes enhance Energizer's ability to continue to compete effectively in the personal care and household products categories. We have redesigned our short term and long term compensation structures to align the organization to achieve the targeted savings, increase return on invested capital and improve shareholder returns. We are fully committed to achieving targeted savings and will pursue these initiatives with urgency and focus.”

The company has created the position of VP global business transformation to oversee the execution of the multi-year program and named Brian Hamm, the current VP finance, household products, to the job. Hamm will report directly to the CEO.

Energizer Holdings is a consumer goods company operating globally in the broad categories of personal care and household products. Energizer's household products division offers a range of portable power solutions, anchored by the Energizer and Eveready brands.