Dive Brief:
- General Mills will shed 675 to 725 jobs from its international business.
- This is part of a restructuring plan — a completion date expected early in the year finishing May 2017 — targeted at increasing growth and reducing costs. The company anticipates saving $45 to $50 million each year from the cuts, with approximately $25 to $30 million realized come the year finishing May 2016.
- The company said it would finish cutting approximately 800 jobs in the U.S. by fiscal 2015's close as part of another cost-cutting initiative.
Dive Insight:
This initiative comes shortly after the company pledged a cereal shake-up, which the president of the company's cereal unit, Jim Murphy, is confident will boost the market.
Similar companies like ConAgra and Campbell Soup have seen a fair share of struggles with U.S. cereal and frozen foods sales with consumers looking to, in their minds, healthier options.
International sales for General Mills have dipped the past two quarters, while U.S. sales actually went up in Q3 for the company following a little over a year of decline each quarter.
The company will report its Q4 earnings July 1.