Gibraltar Industries Suspends Match in Cost-cutting Effort

In announcing a first quarter loss of $12 million, Henning N. Kornbrekke, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Buffalo, New York-based firm, said: “In response to the continued deterioration of global economic conditions the Company initiated a series of additional actions to aggressively lower its cost structure, further reduce working capital, maximize cash, and continue to pay down debt.” The company made an additional staffing reduction of 17% in the first quarter, for a total 36% reduction since September 2007.

In addition, the firm announced a 10% salary reduction for the CEO and COO and a 10% reduction in fees for the Board of Directors. Along with the elimination of salary increases, furloughs in many of its business units, lower capital spending, travel restrictions, and other discretionary spending reductions, Gibraltar expects annualized cash savings of $84 million from its actions, Kornbrekke said.

“We will continue to streamline and consolidate our business, match capacity to demand, relentlessly attack costs, evaluate our portfolio of businesses, and make further adjustments if market conditions fall below our current expectations,” Kornbrekke concluded in the announcement.