LoginKraft Foods Incorporated has announced it will slash 1,600 jobs in North America as it gets ready to split the company into two separate business units.
The company said it will eliminate positions throughout the U.S and Canada, as well as close two of its four management centers, according to the Washington Post.
Last August, the food giant announced it would be splitting the company into two independent companies including a global snack business and a North American grocery company. Kraft said that approximately 40 percent of the cuts will affect sales staff. The company will contract sales for its grocery business to Acosta Sales & Marketing and Crossmark.
Tony Vernon, president of Kraft Foods North America, told the news agency the company is still reviewing plans for more layoffs.
"Making these tough choices is never easy, and we recognize the impact these changes will have on many of our people and their families," Vernon stated.
Meanwhile, the Illinois-based Greco and Sons said it is doubling the size of its Italian food distribution company in Wisconsin.
The Business Times reports that the company will add approximately 60 more employees when it moves from Milwaukee to a new location in Waukesha in August.