Clariant, a producer of specialty chemicals, announced Tuesday that it will eliminate approximately 2,200 jobs by 2009, close 10 percent of its global sites, and reduce its number of products by at least 25 percent, at a cost to Clariant of $403 million.
According to Clariant, these cost-cutting initiatives will allow the company to concentrate on fast-growing markets, especially in China and India, and to reduce complexity, where needed.
The company plans to invest in developing businesses that provide additional application and solution services for customers, and is projecting an increase of 25 percent in Return-on-Invested-Capital by the end of 2009. It will also work on strengthening organizational skills through developing performance management techniques.
Clariant, headquartered in Muttenz, Switzerland, currently employs 22,000 people on five continents.