B&W SHEDS 90 EMPLOYEES IN ANOTHER ROUND OF LAYOFFS

Todd Jacobson
GHG Monitor
7/19/13

Babcock & Wilcox is laying off another 90 employees, completing an effort to streamline the way it does business, B&W President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Ferland said this week in a message to employees obtained by GHG Monitor. Ferland said the bulk of the workforce reductions are in the company’s Power Generation Group, headquartered in Barberton, Ohio. In March B&W said it was laying off approximately 80 employees; the latest layoffs are the last under the company’s Global Competitiveness Initiative, but Ferland said in his memo that more cuts could come by the end of the year as a result of ongoing GCI projects. “Reducing the size of our workforce is an unfortunate but necessary reality to ensure we become a more efficient, effective and lean company,” Ferland said.

Through its GCI program, which is aimed at improving the company’s processes, trimming spending and optimizing its facilities, the company is expected to save more than $15 million in 2013, and over the long-term, the program will save $40 to $50 million in annualized cost reductions. “These are real-dollar savings that benefit B&W’s competitiveness in the markets we serve, support our future growth objectives, and enhance the shareholder value we deliver,” Ferland said. Ferland said the bulk of the layoffs took place July 16, with the employees receiving a severance package that included outplacement benefits.