The announcement comes after the Netherlands-based company finished an ‘intense review’ of its long-term strategic vision – triggered by a combination of ‘disappointing’ results in 2011 and poor economic prospects in the coming years.
Rising cost of raw materials has put heavy pressure on the food and ingredients producer in recent times – with the company recently reporting a 53% drop in its operating results (EBITDA) to €90m for 2011. This was despite a 7% increase in turnover in 2011 to €9.5bn.
Uwe Tillmann, CEO and chairman of the board for Vion said: “The right balance and choices will determine our future success. We are further optimizing our production, logistics, ICT and sales, thus also reducing costs.
“Unfortunately, this will not be possible without streamlining certain activities and making some redundancies,” he said.
Vion said it will continue to focus on further optimising its production, and integrating recently acquired companies, including Eastman Kodak in the US. Whilst the strategic action plan for the firms main European markets – Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom – is aimed at working more effectively and more efficiently.
The company said changes to the organisations will be implemented at an accelerated pace, but noted that efficiency strategies will differ from country to country and from market to market.
“These measures will not be without job cuts, both as a result of plants being closed and changes to back-office activities,” said Vion in a statement.