CPC to Take Restructuring Charge

CPC International Inc. said Thursday that it will take a pretax restructuring charge of $227 million in the current quarter.

CPC, engaged in the restructuring for several years, said the charge amounts to 92 cents per share after taxes.

Chairman and Chief Executive C.R. Shoemate said, “The charge . . . recognizes the cost of additional restructuring activities around the world, which are being compressed into the next 18 to 24 months. . . . “

That allows the company to “anticipate now the competitive needs of the ever more unified markets of the late 1990s,” he added.

Approximately 9% of the work force will be let go under the restructuring.

CPC, a worldwide maker and marketer of such products as Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Skippy peanut butter, said it has expensed the related costs on an ongoing basis, over the years, without taking restructuring charges.

The company sells its products in 55 countries.