NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Johnson & Johnson today announced global restructuring initiatives designed to strengthen the company’s position as the world’s leading global health care company. The company is taking steps to prioritize its innovation efforts around the many growth opportunities in health care and to execute aggressively on bringing key new products to market.
“Johnson & Johnson has long adhered to a broad-based operating model and set of sound management principles that have driven our success,” said William C. Weldon, Johnson & Johnson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Today, we are announcing a series of actions and plans designed to ensure that our company remains well-positioned and appropriately structured for sustainable, long-term growth in the health care industry.”
Cost savings will be achieved primarily by reducing layers of management, increasing individual spans of control, and simplifying business structures and processes across the company’s global operations.
The company said initiatives would be implemented at the operating company levels to be certain the businesses can meet the needs of the customers they serve on a day-to-day basis. The company estimates that position eliminations will be in a range of 6-7 percent of its global workforce, subject to any consultation procedures on these plans in countries where required.
NOTE TO INVESTORS
(This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from Johnson & Johnson’s expectations and projections. Risks and uncertainties include general industry conditions and competition; economic conditions, such as interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; technological advances and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approvals; domestic and foreign health care reforms and governmental laws and regulations; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Exhibit 99 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2008. Copies of this Form 10-K, as well as subsequent filings, are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments.)
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Mehrotra, +1-732-524-6491, Stan Panasewicz, +1-732-524-2524, Lesley
Fishman, +1-732-524-3922, Tina Pinto, +1-732-524-2034, all of Johnson &
Johnson
Web site: http://www.jnj.com/
