Avon not calling as much, will eliminate 2,300 jobs

Blaming the recession, Avon Products (AVP) today announced it would eliminate 1,200 of its 42,000 jobs over three years as part of a global restructuring that will include closing its Springdale, Ohio, facility. The Springdale plant comprises manufacturing, a returned-goods processing operation, and a customer-call center. The call-center employees will be moved to another site in greater Cincinnati, and 600 manufacturing jobs will be eliminated. The restructuring will end up cutting about 2,300 jobs worldwide.

Last week, I compared the new breed of so-called mommy bloggers, who promote products and services, with online versions of Avon parties as the "new Mary Kay." Evidently, this moniker is apt, as the traditional door-to-door direct-sales cosmetic industry has taken a big hit in the past decade. Avon management has determined this is a result of overall consumer-spending trends; in response, Avon has doubled its investment in recruiting direct-sales agents. The company has 9 million contract sales reps around the world.