Polaroid Targets $60 Million in Restructuring Savings

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 27 -- Polaroid Corp. announced a global restructuring plan designed to reduce overhead, realign the company's resources and accelerate implementation of its digital strategy. Approximately 950 jobs, about 11 percent of the company's global workforce, will be eliminated. The restructuring program, which will take about 12 months, should realize about $60 million in cost savings on an annualized basis.
The company expects to record a pre-tax charge of $90 million in the first quarter of 2001 for the restructuring plan. Of that total, about $60 million is associated with severance costs and the remaining $30 million relates to fixed-asset write-offs.
"We are taking aggressive structural and financial steps to make Polaroid more competitive and to take a quantum leap into the important digital marketplace," said Gary T. DiCamillo, chairman and CEO of the company. "Our focus is to generate strong, positive cash flow and invest in specific market opportunities, such as instant digital printing."