Divestment means Fonterra can focus on its strengths
OPINION: Fonterra's board has certainly presented us, as shareholders, with a major issue to consider.
In a statement today, the co-op said total job losses to date stands at 750; it had previously announced 523 job losses.
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says the purpose of the review is to ensure that Fonterra remains well positioned to compete in a rapidly changing global dairy market.
One-off savings generated by changes the cooperative is making during the business review, such as improving working capital, have already enabled the cooperative to support our farmers during challenging market conditions.
The review is an on-going process that looks at the entire business to identify potential areas where the cooperative can find more efficiencies and improve future performance, he says.
"We have great people, but we have to make tough decisions to ensure Fonterra remains competitive in this environment. We will continue to fine-tune our organisation to ensure we best support the initiatives identified by our business review," says Spierings.
"Our business is looking to the future with the momentum, energy and solid plans needed to keep improving performance."
