Philips lighting spin-off Signify set to slash jobs in bid to save €200 million annually

Lighting company Signify has announced a major reorganization. The company wants to cut non-manufacturing costs to save over 200 million euros per year. That will involve layoffs, though the Philips spin-off company did not mention figures for job losses.

“We are taking the next step by organizing our company around four vertically integrated businesses. Three of these will focus on customers. The fourth will be dedicated to conventional lighting technologies,” Signify CEO Eric Rondolat said.

Rondolat did not say how many jobs will be lost, only that “we will further adjust the size of our central organization and reduce our costs to support the company’s performance in the face of ongoing market volatility and uncertainty.”

The reorganization already started in this quarter and will be implemented through next year. Most of the changes should be implemented by the second quarter of 2024. The changes are “subject to proceedings with Signify’s social partners, depending on local legislation.”

Signify currently employs roughly 35,000 people in more than 70 countries. The company claims to be the top company globally in “conventional lighting, LED and connected lighting.” The company generated 7.5 billion euros in sales last year.

Signify resulted from Philips spinning off its lighting division into a new company in 2016. The new company was rebranded under the Signify name in 2018, though it still manufactures products using the Philips and Philips Hue brands, as well as architectural lighting firm Color Kinetics, budget-connected lighting brand Wiz, Internet of Things platform Interact, and others.

Shortly after the cost-cutting announcement, Signify’s stock price rose by nearly 6 percent, towards its highest point in four months. Shares were trading at roughly 28.43 euros midday.