Kimberly-Clark, maker of Huggies and Kleenex, cutting 5K jobs and 10 plants

Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Toiletry-maker Kimberly-Clark announced on Tuesday it will cut about 13 percent of its global workforce as part of a major restructuring initiative.

To cut costs by $2 billion and generate up to $550 million in savings by the end of 2021, the company said it will cut between 5,000 and 5,500 jobs and close or sell 10 manufacturing facilities, according to a statement.

The Dallas-based Huggies and Kleenex maker said it will also exit low-margin businesses that make up about 1 percent of company sales.

Chairman and CEO Thomas Falk said the company delivered growth last year in what's become "a challenging environment."

"Although we expect market conditions will remain challenging in the near-term, we plan to deliver better results in 2018 while we begin to implement our new restructuring," Falk said. "We expect organic sales to return to growth while improving our margins and delivering double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share."

The company did not say which locations would lose the jobs.