Philips trims another 2,000 jobs to save extra US$383m
Source: Bloomberg News | 2012-9-12 | NEWSPAPER EDITION
Sep 12, 2012
People are seen near the entrance of a Philips office in Brussels yesterday. Royal Philips Electronics NV yesterday said it will eliminate 2,200 additional jobs to wring an extra 300 million euros (US$383 million) in savings from the world's largest lighting company.
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ROYAL Philips Electronics NV yesterday said it will eliminate 2,200 additional jobs to wring an extra 300 million euros (US$383 million) in savings from the world's largest lighting company as economic conditions deteriorate.
The measures, designed to address inefficiency in the health-care and lighting divisions, bring the cost-cutting target to 1.1 billion euros by 2014, Amsterdam-based Philips said. It's targeting an extra 50 million euros in savings for this year, Chief Executive Officer Frans van Houten said.
"I already flagged in July that the economy is in worse shape than before," van Houten said ahead of presentations to investors in London. "This will make us more agile and competitive."
Van Houten, now in his second year at the helm, is responding to tougher competition and a slowdown in demand that's spurred competitors such as Siemens AG to examine its cost base. Philips had already targeted 4,500 job losses, and the latest measures will focus primarily on lighting and health care operations.
Philips employed about 121,900 people at the end of last year, with 44 percent of them working in the lighting business and 31 percent in health care, according to its annual report.
As part of the cuts, Philips will streamline management and improve margins by saving on the purchase of raw materials, van Houten said. The deeper cuts aren't essential to meet margin goals, he
