Hershey to cut 1,500 jobs as part of shakeup

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Hershey announced Thursday that it would cut 1,500 jobs as part of a three-year transformation program.

The candy maker said it was reducing the number of its manufacturing locations, and that each remaining factory would produce a higher volume. It said that, at the end of the three-year program, 80 percent of the company's production would be in the U.S. and Canada.

The company expects that the program will cost $525 million to $575 million over the next three years, and that the costs will be incurred primarily in 2007 and 2008.

It projects that the program will save it between $170 million and $190 million a year starting in 2010.

Shares of Hershey (Charts) closed Wednesday at $51.30 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Hershey competes with Cadbury Schweppes (Charts) and Tootsie Roll Industries (Charts) in the candy market.

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