United Stationers offers early retirement
United Stationers Inc. announced a voluntary early retirement program for eligible employees and a focused workforce realignment in certain areas of the company.
The company did not specify which areas of the company will be affected. It owns wholesale industrial distributor ORS Nasco, janitorial and breakroom wholesaler Lagasse Inc., and is also a wholesaler of business products.
The actions are expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2011.
"As we begin 2011, we are focused on aligning our resources with our strategic initiatives to make sure that we have the right skill sets in place to achieve our business objectives," said Cody Phipps, president and chief operating officer. "It is critical that our workforce is well positioned to help enable the success of our customers and suppliers. In order to achieve this goal, we will continue to carefully manage staffing levels throughout the organization in line with business growth opportunities. We believe these changes will allow us to make even greater progress on our key strategies, such as enabling e-business for our customers and suppliers and helping them grow."
The company expects to record a 2010 fourth quarter pre-tax charge of approximately $9 million to $10 million in connection with these actions, which will affect approximately 150 positions. The pre-tax charges are comprised of severance and related expenses and will be charged against operating expenses.
The company also changed its policy for vacation pay.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The May/June issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about GHX Industrial. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dr. Bharani Nagarathnam and Frank Hurtte, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
