Kraft Drives Growth in Europe

In support of its Sustainable Growth Plan, Kraft Foods Inc. is reorganizing its European operations to increase consumer focus and improve speed to market. The company is creating a new European Union (EU) Region, which will combine its Western Europe (WE) and Central Europe (CE) Regions into a single management structure. Kraft will focus on three core categories -- chocolate, coffee and cheese & dairy -- that will be managed centrally across the EU. In late 2006, Kraft plans to establish a single EU Region office. "These changes are designed to create significant value for our European consumers and customers, and drive our future growth for Kraft in Europe, by making us more flexible, externally-focused and faster to market," says Joachim Krawczyk, president of the EU Region. As the company increases category focus, streamlines operations and continues efforts to reduce costs, it is expected that a number of positions will be eliminated.