The company behind trusted brands, such as Kleenex and Huggies, has announced its plan to cut back on more than 5,000 jobs.
Under new cost-saving plans for 2018, 5,000 employees will lose their jobs.
According to Kimberly-Clark's release of year-end 2017 results and the 2018 outlook, the company has a four-year plan, established by FORCE (Focused On Reducing Costs Everywhere), to reduce costs. From 2018 to 2021, the company has a target of saving more than $1.5 billion.
The company's 2017 net sales and adjusted earnings per share rose only slightly, but the company says they are predicted to increase with the new plan for 2018.
One of their plans to help drive the cost-saving initiatives is to rid of 12 to 13 percent of their workforce, which is roughly 5,000 to 5,500 jobs. They also plan to close or sell 10 facilities.
The other existing facilities will take over and increase their production capacity. Cutting back on these facilities is predicted to bring them $500 million by the end of their four-year plan.
The higher-ups see the initiative as necessary to the success of the company's future.
"It will make our company leaner, stronger and faster," said Chairman and CEO Thomas Falk in a news release.
