News

Invensys Slims Down Workforce by Six Percent

March 21, 2001 by Jeff Shepard

Invensys plc (UK) announced that it will be eliminating 5,000 jobs, or six percent of its total workforce, by the end of fiscal 2001. This is in addition to the restructuring and cost-reduction programs initiated in the second quarter of this fiscal year.

CEO Allen Yurko stated, “Like every company in our industry, we are watching the US economy closely. Whilst at this point it is not possible to be sure of the duration of the current downturn, we are committed to minimizing the impact on our results through decisive and practical actions in the near-term. We remain confident of the long-term prospects for our businesses and will continue to invest in high-growth opportunities, especially those which strengthen our ability to provide customers with systems and service solution."

The recent economic setbacks have caused several divisions of Invensys to cut back. The Power Systems division, however, has continued to grow, but at a more moderate pace. Invensys believes that the strong backlog with which it entered the second half of 2001 will ensure an operating profit for the period broadly similar to that of the first half.

An example of this recent growth may be found in an acquisition the company made in February 2001, when Invensys acquired the manufacturing assets from Power-Sonic Corp. (Mexico) for $28.0 million. The new manufacturing facility will house production for Invensys Power Systems' energy storage battery products.