KONE launches a program to accelerate the executio

KONE Corporation, stock exchange release, September 26, 2017 at 09.30 a.m. EEST

KONE launches a program to accelerate the execution of its Winning with Customers strategy to support profitable growth

At the beginning of 2017, KONE announced its new strategy, Winning with Customers, in order to differentiate and to bring new levels of customer centricity and value adding services and solutions to its customers. KONE now launches an Accelerate Winning with Customers program to speed up the execution of this strategy and to support profitable growth.

The objective of the program is to create a faster-moving, customer-centric organization that leverages scale efficiently in a rapidly changing environment. The planned actions include both organizational adjustments, as well as the development and further harmonization of roles, processes and tools.

KONE aims to maintain strong local accountability and to strengthen the customer-facing functions in the country organizations. The area organizations and global functions are planned to have a bigger role in  supporting and enabling the countries to focus on delivering value to the customers. This requires sharing expertise and resources more effectively. KONE is for example looking into utilizing more centers of expertise and further strengthening its shared services.

The program is estimated to generate annual cost savings of around EUR 100 million. The cost savings are expected to be achieved gradually with full impact from the end of 2020 onwards. According to initial estimates, the measures could result in the reduction of approximately 1,000 jobs globally over the three-year-period ending in 2020. The details on the impacts of the program will be communicated, and when necessary, negotiated locally as the plans progress. Restructuring costs related to the program are expected to amount to a total of approximately EUR 100 million, the majority of which are expected to accrue over the next two years.

"Ability to drive change and to renew ourselves has always been a key success factor for KONE. In a world where the pace of change is accelerating, this is more crucial than ever," says Henrik Ehrnrooth, President and CEO. "We have good momentum with the new strategy, and I'm confident that with the planned actions we will be best placed to win with our customers". 

For further information, please contact:

Investors and Analysts: Sanna Kaje, Vice President, Investor Relations, tel. +358 (0)204 75 4705, sanna.kaje@kone.com

Media: Liisa Kivelä, Director, Communications, tel. +358 400 308 484, liisa.kivela@kone.com

Sender:

KONE Corporation

Henrik Ehrnrooth President and CEO       

Susanne Skippari EVP, Human Resources

About KONE

At KONE, our mission is to improve the flow of urban life. As a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, KONE provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, as well as solutions for maintenance and modernization to add value to buildings throughout their life cycle. Through more effective People Flow®, we make people's journeys safe, convenient and reliable, in taller, smarter buildings. In 2016, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 8.8 billion and at the end of the year over 52,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland.

www.kone.com