Dole Food Co Inc is restructuring its Dole Fresh Flowers (DFF) division to better focus on high-value products and flower varieties, and position the business unit for growth.
Specific actions DFF is taking include:
•It will close the flowers operation in Ecuador and two farms in Colombia (Porcelain and Splendor-Corzo), impacting 2,188 employees.
•DFF is downsizing other farms of the flowers operation, which will impact 1,275 employees.
•A 35% global sales force reduction is underway, and DFF is making other administrative/management workforce reductions of 29%.
•DFF subsidiaries’ employees in Colombia and Ecuador who are impacted will receive severance benefits.
•The division also is taking steps to lower infrastructure/overhead costs throughout the operation.
These measures are expected to improve annual cash flow by about US $35 million. Restructuring charges, most of which are expected to be recorded during the third and fourth quarters of 2006, are estimated at US $26 million, of which around $13 million represents cash.