General Mills to cut 600 jobs
The company said trimming its staff numbers was a necessary part of reaching its fiscal goals for 2018. The struggling American Apparel is also rumored to announce layoffs.
The staff cuts include chief marketing officer Ann Simonds—who will step down at the end of the year—and General Mills’ international chief operating officer, Christopher O’Leary. His position probably won’t be replaced, according to reports.
The company’s chief operating officer, Jeff Harmening, said in a statement that staff cuts were essential for hitting the company’s profit-margin goal:
The structural changes announced today will help us unlock global growth opportunities and go after them by efficiently restructuring our teams and processes. The capability investments and savings generated by these changes will help us deliver our fiscal 2018 adjusted operating profit margin target of 20 percent.
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Simonds was named marketing chief in 2014, and a search is underway to replace her. She and chief creative officer Michael Fanuele led the company’s effort in 2016 to find new marketing agencies. Earlier this year, 72andSunny and Redscout took over as General Mills’ lead creative agencies in the United States.
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