Boral bites the bullet

By Kenneth Robson on January 17, 2013 • ( 1 )

Boral surges 10% on re-structure announcement

English: Boral Cement Works, Maldon, NSW Australia. Formerly Blue Circle Southern, Maldon. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

http://m.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/boral-cuts-deep-to-protect-profits/story-fn91v9q3-1226555405314

THE new boss of Australia‘s biggest building materials supplier, Boral, has defended his decision to slash nearly 10 per cent of its workforce, saying the company would not be able to deliver acceptable financial results without tough action.

Mike Kane, who took over as chief executive on October 1 last year, said yesterday that Boral was operating in an industry facing “serious challenges” and its cost structure was no longer sustainable.

Top management and back-office staff will go as part of Boral’s sharper-than-expected cost-cutting program that will see 885 jobs shed across Australia. “We could not have afforded to carry this overhead,” Mr Kane said. “These cuts are a function of an overhead structure that was really unacceptable in a highly cyclical business.