Earlier this year, P&G announced a worldwide restructuring, resulting in massive lay-offs. However, the fallout in Flanders (Belgium) will remain limited. ACV trade union spokesman Paul Schoeters explains: “We haven’t received any news of more cutbacks. Instead, P&G wants to invest in its plant in Mechelen. The people dismissed at the Duracell plant in Aarschot will have priority to fill in the new jobs in Mechelen.”

The multinational recently revealed in a statement that by mid-2013, P&G would have laid off 5,700 employees as a consequence of its new strategy to focus uniquely on the production of cosmetics and health products. Within this transition, the chips brand Pringles has already been sold to the Kellogg Company.

“The worldwide reorganization has just been announced. How this will translate in the field remains to be seen,” comments P&G Spokesman Ronald van de Straat. According to P&G, the reorganization will affect mainly non-producing subsidiaries, which is good news for Flanders.

Procter & Gamble is a multinational corporation headquartered in Ohio (USA) with a wide portfolio of consumer goods. Its best-known brands include Duracell batteries, Gillette razors, Head & Shoulders shampoo and Tide laundry detergents amongst others. The company, with a workforce of about 129,000 people worldwide, recorded sales of USD 82.6 billion in 2011.