Global corporate communications group
Leading global group for corporate communications with € 3 billion in sales and 9,000 employees (3,000 in Germany).
We provided restructuring support in cooperation with the CEO, CFO, CRO and CHRO. Total cost savings of € 280 million were achieved. EBIT was increased by more than 275%.
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The challenge
- Market needs not adequately addressed with product portfolio.
- Falling demand leading to a revenue loss situation.
- Lack of management presence.
- High turnover of key employees.

The solution
We provided restructuring support in cooperation with the CEO, CFO, CRO and CHRO. A PMO was established, which initially focused on the business case and ensured sufficient financing for the restructuring activities via owners and banks. Based on benchmarks and bottom-up challenges, various scenarios were simulated. A target scenario was selected with a new location strategy, including reallocations and company formations as necessary for successful implementation.
The headcount had to be drastically reduced, in Germany alone, ~1,500 jobs (50%) were to be cut. This was achieved by the closure of sites in more than 30 countries. In Germany, two-thirds of the sites were to be closed. In addition, the costs of the entire workforce had to be considered and, in this context, new rules for dealing with service providers and temporary workers had to be formulated.
In the White Book, we documented all measures across all functional levels. Based on this, we supported the client in negotiations (with the employee council) on the reconciliation of interests and social selections.
In addition, we introduced controlling of the number of employees per country and business division as well as location profiles including important KPIs (e.g., customer volume, lease situation, function split, average income, age of employees).
