CooperVision has sacked 160 staff around the world, with three middle management positions in Australia being scrapped.
Michael Kotow, who was managing director and vice president for the Asia region, as well as two fellow middle management employees have left the company and his position has been filled by Wayne Reuben who is now country manager for Australia and New Zealand.
In confirming the changes, Mr. Reuben explained that he used to report to Mr. Kotow who in turn reported to the regional president, who was based in California.
“Basically, the company has collapsed that middle layer, so now I’m reporting directly to the regional president,” said Mr. Reuben.
“Structurally, that mirrors the way other regions around the globe operate,” he added.
Mr. Reuben said CooperVision’s actions of ‘resizing’ was in response to the world economic situation and the streamlining operations where necessary.
“The company has taken out around two per cent of its global workforce of 7,000, which is 160 jobs that have gone. Of the 100 or so Australian employees, only three have gone from middle management, not sales or marketing…and we don’t expect any more job losses,” said Mr. Reuben
“We’re in a great position in the grand scheme of things. We are growing locally and globally thanks to prudent management,” he added.
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