Intermec Announces Restructuring Plan; to Cut 170 Jobs

Intermec, Inc. IN, today announced a corporate restructuring plan to better align its cost structure with its current and anticipated needs by lowering costs primarily in North America and Europe. The restructuring plan seeks to lower the company's general and administrative and support costs while limiting the impact on research and development and global sales operations, especially in higher growth regions such as Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Eastern Europe. “These are difficult business decisions that I realize directly affect many people,” said Intermec chief executive officer Allen Lauer. “However, the new cost structure better positions us to execute our strategy. Our management team and I are committed to realizing the benefits of this restructuring as early as the third quarter of this year.” The company expects to eliminate approximately 170 positions or 7% of its global workforce and will record total one-time employee separation expenses and related costs of approximately $8 million to $9 million on a pre-tax basis. Approximately $6 million to $7 million of these restructuring costs will be recorded in the second quarter of 2012. The company anticipates that the restructuring will generate annual cost savings of approximately $19 million to $21 million. Investments the company has made to expand its solutions strategy, including the acquisition of Vocollect which is not directly impacted by the restructuring plan, continue to perform in-line with expectations. Intermec will continue to be a highly competitive player in its targeted deployment environments developing products, services and technologies that identify, track and manage supply chain assets and information, for its many global customers.