Restructuring

Nabisco Holdings Corp. on Monday unveiled a sweeping restructuring that includes shutting some plants and warehouses, firing about 3,100 workers and sharply hiking promotional spending. The nation's largest maker of cookies and crackers said it plans to take a second-quarter restructuring charge of about $268 million, or three times estimated earnings, and take another pretax charge of $118 million over the next year as it reduces its work force by 6%.

The American flag was raised solemnly and a local high school marching band played patriotic songs before a beaming Chrysler Group President Dieter Zetsche cut the ribbon to open a new dealership Wednesday. "We want to show that we are not scared" in the wake of the terrorist attacks, Zetsche said in inaugurating a dealership in this fast-growing community about 20 miles north of Detroit. But the upbeat mood was in contrast to the dire prospects Chrysler faces in the immediate future.

Republic Industries Inc. said Friday it is canceling plans to open a used-car reconditioning plant in Riverside County this spring, a project that would have employed about 300 people. The move is part of a broader restructuring. Republic also is closing its Cincinnati reconditioning plant and cutting back production at four others in Texas and Florida.

Orange County CEO Bill Popejoy is right when he argues that there is no reasonable alternative to Measure R, the proposed sales tax increase on the June 27 ballot. The county ought to embrace "R for Recovery," as Popejoy puts it--but also three other R's: Restructuring, Results-based budgeting and Reform. Restructuring involves reorganizing work into self-managing teams that eliminate superfluous mid-level supervisors. Accomplishing it is no small task. The key problems are envisioning new ways of organizing work and overcoming resistance both from those whose supervisorial jobs are at risk and from those who can't or won't adopt the new thinking.

Avon Products Inc. said it would cut 2,400 jobs as part of its multiyear restructuring plan, which will cost more than originally expected and ultimately save the beauty-products maker $430 million annually. The New York-based company, which sells beauty products directly to customers, operates in 100 countries through more than 5 million independent sales representatives. Avon said it would take a charge of $120 million in the fourth quarter for restructuring some international direct selling operations and realigning supply-chain operations in Western Europe and Latin America.

Director Robert M. Gates may be reluctant to make changes in an agency deeply entrenched in its ways, but his track record makes it seem unlikely that anyone else is more qualified to conduct a restructuring. MARIS BELLAMY Northridge

Gensia Inc. said Tuesday that it has laid off 35 employees, including four corporate officers, as part of an overall restructuring of its operations. The San Diego-based company's division in Irvine, Gensia Laboratories Ltd., was not affected by the reductions. Gensia Laboratories Inc., which employs about 230 people, is the company's manufacturing and distribution facility.

Walter L. Weisman, who as president and chief executive of American Medical International shepherded the company through nearly two years of restructuring, was named Tuesday as its next chairman. AMI is a major health services provider with annual revenue of about $4 billion. Weisman will succeed Royce Diener, who will step down after the Beverly Hills company's Jan. 21 annual meeting. Diener, who joined the company in 1969 as an outside director, has been its chairman since 1979.

Ford Motor Co. has sufficient liquidity to weather an economic downturn, even if the economy worsens, Chief Executive Alan Mulally said. Mulally said Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford initially believed it would need $17 billion for restructuring and to cover losses, but it raised $23 billion, giving it a cushion. Mulally said he didn't know whether he had enough time to fix Ford, though he was confident in its restructuring plan that called for a return to profitability in 2009. The CEO's comments came two days before the automaker expects to announce the details of another round of buyout and early-retirement packages for hourly workers when it reports its 2007 earnings and future projections Thursday.