Kimberly-Clark, the owners of Huggies nappies, is to shut a number of plants in Europe to focus on other areas of the business.
The company, which owns other well-known brands including Kleenex, Andrex toilet paper and Kotex, plans to close two plants in the UK, located in Hull and Wales. The closures will put 438 jobs in jeopardy.
The company is planning to scrap the production of nappies and focus on its range of pull-ups, little swimmers and wipes. Plants in Spain, Italy and Poland also planned to be sold, which produce nappies, toilet paper and tissues respectively.
Speaking of the decision to close European plants, Thomas J. Falk, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said: “The strategic changes we will be making in Europe should allow us to better focus on our best market positions and growth opportunities, improve our underlying profitability and enable more sustainable returns going forward in this part of the world.
“These moves are further evidence of the portfolio management approach we use to run our company and the financial discipline embedded in our Global Business Plan.”
Kimberly-Clark has been in business for over 140 years and was the first to create a facial tissue, which we all use to this day. They are currently one of the most bought brands in the world, with one in four of the world’s population purchasing one of their products. The company also employs around 57,000 people in 36 different countries.
Do you work at one of the plants facing closure? Do you think it is fair that a company with a net income of £335 million is closing production plants? Share your thoughts below.
Previous Post
Nationwide Linked to RBS Branch Takeover
