Australian rubber products firm Ansell Ltd said it will relocate its condom unit offshore, exit a U.S. military gloves operation and shut down a Malaysian manufacturing plant, cutting 250 jobs and leading to a one-off charge of US$124.7 million.
The Melbourne-based company will also eliminate 30 “older non-core brands”, 100 products and 20 legal entities by the end of the 2014-15 financial year, it said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange on Monday.
The condom unit will “remain unchanged with the exception of a leadership transition over the next few months that will relocate the Sexual Wellness global headquarters out of Australia to a location closer to core international growth markets,” the company said.
The cost of restructuring will not affect dividends for the 2013-14 financial year and the restructuring will bring annual savings of up to US$22 million in 2015-16 when complete, Ansell said.
Ansell shares closed down 0.85 % at A$19.83 (US$18.64), before it announced the restructuring