HARTSVILLE — A reorganization at Sonoco will mean 50 net positions lost, about 25 of those in Hartsville.
The move, announced late Tuesday, will reduce costs $20 million annually, chairman, president and CEO Harris E. DeLoach Jr. said.
“The sole purpose was not cost-cutting, though that was a component. It was to align our business for growth over the next five to 10 years,” Roger Schrum, vice president of investor relations and corporate affairs, said Thursday.
“Sonoco, like most manufacturing businesses, remains vulnerable to the fragile global economy and the impact the lingering recession is having on consumers and our customers,” DeLoach said. “To be successful during these uncertain times we must remain focused on improving areas we can control, including simplifying our business structure and scaling the company for program growth, improved innovation and obtaining sustainable operating efficiencies.”
Within the company there were 19 separate businesses, most of which were acquired during the past 10 years. The company consolidated those into six business units and eliminated redundancies. Redundant employees are being offered severance pay, benefit continuation and outplacement assistance, DeLoach said.
The plan takes costs out of some areas and adds costs to other areas of Sonoco’s holdings.
“We’re putting the necessary assets into the growth part of our business,” Schrum said.
“The global recession has structurally changed many of our served markets. As a result, we must change our organization to address these new market realities and react to the changing needs of our customers,” DeLoach said. “In addition, we will shift resources to our businesses with the best opportunity for global development so that we can meet our longer term growth and shareholder return goals.”
Sonoco, founded in 1899 and headquartered in Hartsville, is a global manufacturer of consumer and industrial packaging products and provider of packaging services, with more than 300 operations in 35 countries serving customers in some 85 nations. For more information, visit its Web site at www.sonoco.com.
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