Sidel Group, the blow molding equipment unit of Tetra Laval Group, is moving its headquarters from Switzerland to Italy and laying off 10 percent of its workforce in a reorganization move announced Sept. 4.
The restructuring will be completed by early 2016.
Sidel is moving its headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, to its manufacturing operation in Parma, Italy. A Sidel spokeswoman said the Zug facility was a headquarters with no manufacturing. Parma has become a center of excellence in filling for complete production lines and filling technology.
The announced changes are part of its move to focus exclusively on PET equipment, the spokeswoman said.
The moves will create “a new, streamlined functional structure” as well as “more centralized reporting lines and fewer management levels,” the company said. “The changes will generate cost savings that will be reinvested back in developing improved solutions for our customers.”
The reorganization impacts only Sidel. Tetra Laval Group's two other business units are not affected — Tetra Pak and DeLaval. Tetra Laval Group is based in Pully, Switzerland.
Sidel said there will be an overall reduction of about 10 percent across Sidel's global operations — 360 employees. Sidel employs about 3,400 worldwide. Some of the laid-off employees will be re-deployed into new roles. The company spokeswoman also said that 715 “roles” will be removed with up to 355 new roles created — resulting in the 360 fewer net jobs.
According to Tetra Laval's 2014 annual report, “Sidel operated in a difficult market” for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31. Blow molding equipment sales were flat, but Sidel did increase its aftermarket sales and service business by 4.5 percent.
