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Tuesday, Sep. 29, 1998

Gillette plans to cut jobs, shut facilities worldwide

Firm may lay off as many as 4,700 employees

Associated Press

   BOSTON - Gillette Co. will lay off as many as 4,700 employees as part of a worldwide reorganization plan.
   The layoffs announced Monday account for 11 percent of the company's 43,000-employee workforce. Gillette also plans to close 14 factories, 12 warehouses and 30 office facilities worldwide.
   The reorganization means lower-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. The company will take a one-time after-tax charge of about $350 million, or 30 cents a share, for the quarter.
   Gillette officials wouldn't say where the job cuts would be made, but about 80 percent of all Gillette employees work in some two dozen countries outside the United States.
   ``We cannot be specific about the location and the timing'' of the cuts, said Patricia Klarfeld, a Gillette spokeswoman.
   About half of the 12,000 U.S.-based workers are in Massachusetts, where the company is headquartered. Gillette also has facilities in California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
   The affected employees will be given severance packages and other benefits, Klarfeld said.
   The reorganization, which will be completed in 18 months, will allow the company to respond to ``changing business conditions'' in its six main divisions, including razors and blades, batteries and oral hygiene products, company officials said.
   Founded in 1901, Gillette controls 70 percent of the men's shaving products market and 50 percent of the women's market. The company also makes Oral-B toothbrushes, the Braun line of products, alkaline batteries and writing instruments.

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