Kraft Foods to lay off 400 workers in U.S., Canada

Kraft Foods Inc. will lay off 400 people in North America by the end of the year, the company told its employees Monday.

The Northfield-based corporation employs 41,000 people in the United States, including 4,400 in the Chicago area, plus 5,500 in Canada. The layoffs will amount to about 1 percent of the staffing, said Renee Zahery, senior director of corporate affairs.

The corporation is not reporting how many of those jobs will be in the headquarters or other facilities on the North Shore. These include pizza, cheese, grocery and food services.

The cuts will be primarily in what the corporation calls management centers or headquarter areas in New York, New Jersey and Madison, Wis., as well as the North Shore. Zahery said this means most will be office jobs as opposed to manufacturing. Different brands that have been purchased over the years such as Oscar Mayer in Madison, Wis., are managed independently. Each unit is undergoing cost reductions, she said.

"We are in the midst of a 3-year transformation plan to restore Kraft to reliable, consistent growth," said Zahery.

Increases in the cost of milk and energy are among challenges the corporation has faced.

"Looking at the entire food industry there are unprecedented input costs," she said. "There are a lot of economic and competitive pressures. That's why reductions of all costs is critical to fund future growth opportunities and manage our margins."

The corporation's second-quarter profits were considered strong, and third quarter will be announced near the end of this month.