Kraft Heinz announces 2,500 job cuts

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33877719

Version 0 of 1.

Kraft Heinz has announced it is cutting about 2,500 jobs in the US and Canada following its recent merger.

A spokesmen said that about 700 of the jobs were going at Kraft's headquarters in Illinois, but would not specify where else the cuts would land.

Executives hope to save $1.5bn in annual costs by 2017.

Kraft Heinz is the third largest food company in North America following the merger between Kraft and Heinz earlier this year.

The deal was engineered by Heinz's owners, the Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital, and billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

It is thought the main job losses will be on the Kraft side of the business, as the company's chief executive Bernardo Hees has already overseen cuts at Heinz.

The food giant owns brands including Jell-O, Heinz baked beans and Velveeta.

The merger was seen as attractive because it meant manufacturing and distribution could be combined saving millions of dollars a year.

In a statement, company spokesmen Michael Mullen said: "The new structure eliminates duplication to enable faster decision-making, increased accountability and accelerated growth."