General Mills cutting 850 jobs worldwide

GlobalPost

General Mills is laying off 850 employees, or 2.4 percent of its workforce, the Golden Valley, Minn.-based company announced today, according to Reuters.

General Mills, which makes Cheerios cereal, Progresso soups and Yoplait yoghurt, among other items, said most of the jobs shed would be administrative and support positions, Reuters reported. While the company plans to cut jobs worldwide, about half the layoffs will occur in the Twin Cities region, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

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General Mills has been struggling with increasing raw material costs and slowing sales growth, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. General Mills’ third-quarter net income fell to $391.5 million from $392.1 million a year earlier, Reuters reported.

"(Packaged food) is a tough space," Jack Russo, a stock analyst with Edward Jones, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "You just have to grind your way through it and unfortunately you have to attack the cost side of the business."

General Mills said it plans to invest the money saved from having a smaller workforce in promoting sales growth and fostering innovation at the company, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

A company spokeswoman told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that more details of its restructuring plans would be released with its fourth quarter earnings in late June.

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