Heinz CEO Warns Employees of Kraft to Prepare for Disruption

[Purveyor]

Bernardo Hees, who cut more than 7,000 jobs at H.J. Heinz Co. after his investment firm took the company private, has a message for Kraft workers: Change is hard.

3G, with backing from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., recently announced it would buy Kraft Foods Group Inc. and merge it with Heinz, where Hees is serving as chief executive officer. 3G is known for slashing costs, prompting speculation that jobs will be cut at Kraft, the maker of food brands such as Velveeta, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Maxwell House.

“In many places, our similarities will create synergies and our differences will open up opportunities,” Hees said in a video message that was released to Kraft employees on Monday. “But we all understand that change is never easy and brings with it a lot of uncertainty and questions.”

3G, which also teamed up with Buffett on the Heinz deal, has cut 7,400 jobs at the Pittsburgh-based company in less than two years as it works to boost profitability.

Heinz had 24,500 full-time employees as of Dec. 28, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month. That compares with 31,900 as of April 28, 2013. Buffett and 3G took the company private in June of that year.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-06/heinz-ceo-warns-employees-of-kraft-to-prepare-for-disruption

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Warren Buffett, the ultimate Limousine Liberal. (nt)

[Trillo]

2. I'm always amazed by corporate merger activity compared to marriage laws.

A corporation is allowed to merge multiple times, keeping all prior partners, but humans are not legally allowed to do the same without first divorcing their current partner.

[enlightenment]

3. People who can utter

sentences like this one: "In many places, our similarities will create synergies and our differences will open up opportunities . . ."
should have their tongues nailed to a post.

Say what you mean, Mr. Hees. Where there is duplication of jobs, the Kraft workers will lose their positions. Possibly, there might be a chance some of them will be able to transition into a different area. Probably not, though.