Industry Chatter: Colgate-Palmolive and Unilever?

Posted: July 17, 2007

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In related news—although not necessarily related to rumors of acquisition—Unilever plans to close three offices dedicated to sales and marketing in southeast England with the loss of up to 350 jobs, according to reports. The sites in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey; Kingston-upon-Thames, in southwest London; and Crawley, West Sussex will reportedly close by the end of next year.

The company said 40 senior management roles and between 260 and 310 other jobs would be lost, reported BBC news. A new merged operation will be located in Leatherhead, Surrey. Unilever has been restructuring the business under its One Unilever programme over the past two years in an attempt to improve performance, says reports; the company reportedly said the loss of the sales and marketing jobs were the result of "speeding up the changes."

-Rachel Chapman, Cosmetics & Toiletries magazine