Quiksilver, Inc. said it is taking additional steps to reduce expenses in its Americas region as part of an overall restructuring effort “to reposition its business and in response to the continued decline in the consumer retail environment.” The company will eliminate 200 positions as part of the plan, including a reduction-in-force of approximately 150 employees which is expected to account for roughly one-third of the annual cost reductions.
Robert B. McKnight, Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer, said, Beginning last year, we initiated a process to reduce our corporate overhead and cut spending in each of our regions. While these measures improved our overall cost structure by more than $35 million, our commitment to further streamlining the business and the continued decline in the retail environment make additional steps necessary. Our spending cuts are across-the-board, touching each of our internal organizations and systems in the Americas, but have been designed to drive improved efficiency while minimizing the impact to our customers and other business partners. All levels of our organization are affected by these actions as nearly 20 percent of the employees involved in the reduction hold manager-level titles or higher. Our management team has worked together on these cost reduction measures with the primary goal of becoming better positioned to weather the current environment and to meet our business objectives moving forward.”
As a part of its reduction in payroll, Quiksilver also noted that it had provided news of further pay cuts for members of its executive management team in an SEC filing. As reported, Quiksilver Inc. has approved a 5% cut to the annual base salaries of some top executives as part of its cost-cutting efforts, according to a Securities & Exchange Commission filing.
The company also reaffirmed that its efforts to restructure its uncommitted debt in Asia Pacific and Europe remain on track for completion in February.
