Dive Brief:
An August memo at HJ Heinz Co. obtained by Bloomberg News indicated that employees are seeing new restrictions at work, including:
- a 200-pages-per-month limit on printing
- an end to color printing, except for “customer-facing purposes”
- individual office supply budgets of $15 per month
- a ban on in-office mini-refrigerators
Dive Insight:
Heinz has been cutting costs and laying off hundreds of employees (including 600 in the U.S. and Canada alone) in the wake of its purchase by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital this summer. These latest cuts, which reportedly also involved axing private jets, show that the company is looking to eliminate expenses wherever it can.
The layoffs demonstrated that the company is taking big swings at how it functions on a day-to-day basis, but the focus on paper and refrigeration costs is evidence that there really is a magnifying glass being placed over its budget as well.