Gillette To Shave 4,700 Jobs

Gillette Co. will cut as many as 4,700 jobs as part of a worldwide reorganization plan.

The job cuts account for 11 percent of the company's 43,000-employee workforce. Gillette also plans to close 14 factories and 12 warehouses, as well as 30 offices facilities worldwide.

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The company wouldn't say where the job cuts would be made, but about 80 percent of all Gillette employees work in some two dozen countries outside the United States.

About half of the 12,000 U.S.-based workers are in Massachusetts, where the company is headquartered. Gillette also has facilities in California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

"What we're saying at this point, we cannot be specific about the location and the timing," said Patricia Klarfeld, a Gillette spokeswoman.

The affected employees will be given severance packages and other benefits, she said.

The reorganization, which will be completed in 18 months, will allow the company to respond to "changing business conditions" in the company's six main divisions, including razors and blades, batteries and oral hygiene products.

Founded in 1901, Gillette controls 70 percent of the men's shaving products market and 50 percent of the women's market. The company also makes Oral-B toothbrushes, the Braun line of products, alkaline batteries and writing instruments.

Gillette's 1997 sales totalled $10.1 billion. Manufacturing operations are conducted at 64 facilities in 26 countries, and products are distributed in over 200 countries and territories around the world, a company spokeswoman said.

Earlier this year, Gillette announced it was investing $300 million over two years to promote a new triple-blade razor, called the Mach3, which went on the market in late June.

Also this year, the company announced it was beginning a $40 million promotional campaign for its Gillette for Women lin of shaving products.