Layoffs could hurt sales jobs in Rhode Island

Posted on February 25, 2012

A new round of layoffs from Proctor & Gamble may hurt sales jobs in Rhode Island.
Proctor & Gamble just announced hundreds of layoffs globally.

The company is reducing the number of non-manufacturing workers by about 3 percent or or 1,600 people by the end of the fiscal year.

No details are known yet about where or when the layoffs will specifically occur.

According to its latest financial stats, P&G delivered four percent sales growth to $22.1 billion for the October – December quarter. Growth was driven by higher volume and pricing actions, partially offset by geographic and product mix.

The company continued to deliver broad-based organic sales growth, with all six business segments up versus the prior year. Diluted net earnings per share were $0.57 per share, reflecting non-core charges of $0.53 per share. The non-core items included a $0.50 per share non-cash impairment charge associated with the Appliances and Salon Professional businesses. Core net earnings per share were $1.10, toward the high end of P&G’s expectations for the quarter.

“We continue to make progress against our key business priorities in a difficult macroeconomic environment,” said Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer Bob McDonald. “We delivered solid top-line growth and continued to accelerate productivity improvements to drive down costs. With the easing of commodity cost comparisons over the next two quarters, continued solid top-line growth and cost savings progress, we expect operating profit growth to accelerate in the second half of the fiscal year.”