Kraft Foods announced several moves to help ensure its North America-based snacks and grocery businesses are well-positioned to become two independent public companies before the end of 2012. Key decisions include realigning the U.S. Sales organization, consolidating U.S. management centers and streamlining the corporate and business unit organizations. These actions will result in the reduction of approximately 1,600 positions in North America throughout 2012, about 40 percent of which are due to the realignment of U.S. Sales.
"When we announced our decision to create two world-class companies last August, we said both would be leaner, more competitive organizations," said Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO. "For the past year, the North American team has been working to streamline operations to deliver sustainable top-tier performance and continue to invest in our iconic brands. We're confident that this transformational work will improve effectiveness and fuel the future growth of both companies."