Kellogg Co. is cutting jobs within the company's North American financial unit that will affect workers in Battle Creek and Ontario as well as its U.S. Plant and Field Sales division.
The company said the move is part of its Project K initiative, launched in 2013 to promote efficiency and reshape the business for future growth. Its new finance structure will be delivered through Global Business Services in a three-tier model emphasizing its local, regional and global reach. Those GBS teams will be located in Battle Creek, Grand Rapids and Mumbai, India.
Kellogg declined to say how many employees would be affected.
At the completion of Project K in 2017, the company said it estimates it will have approximately 2,300 to 2,500 jobs at its headquarters in Battle Creek. Company spokeswoman Kris Charles told the Enquirer that it would represent a net effect of "roughly 100-200 roles" during the four-year period.
"As we've said, the ebb and flow of employees to and from a Headquarters campus is a natural part of conducting business as a global company," Charles said Thursday. "We remain committed to Battle Creek."
Charles said company employees that have been dismissed are "being encouraged to apply for available roles within Kellogg."
The cereal and snack food giant has not shied away from making difficult decisions in Project K. Last year, the company said it planned to move some human resources and supply chain jobs from Battle Creek, with some transferred to global service centers operated by a contractor and some to the North American Global Business Service Center in Cascade Township, near Grand Rapids.
It also did not disclose how many employees and contractors would be affected by that move.
The company's workforce in Battle Creek has undergone some dramatic changes since 1999, when the company closed the South Plant, laid off about 550 employees, and moved some cereal production to Mexico.
At the time of the South Plant closure, the company estimated the move would save Kellogg between $35 million and $45 million annually.
More recently, the company has been battling declining cereal sales. CEO John Bryant, however, has affirmed Kellogg's commitment to Battle Creek through investments and economic development efforts, such as the BC Vision initiative.
Bryant has cited the company's investment of millions of dollars in the downtown W.K. Kellogg Institute for Food and Nutrition Research since the mid-2000s to encourage product growth and innovation. He reiterated that point this week in an article published by Crain's Detroit Business.
Kellogg's annual shareholders meeting will be held April 29 at W.K. Kellogg Auditorium. Attendees must be current holders of Kellogg stock.
Audio of the meeting and presentation slides will be live-streamed on the company's investor website at investor.kelloggs.com.
