Tissue: Essity plans new business structure and staff cuts

In the future, hygiene paper manufacturer Essity will be divided into four business areas: Health & Medical, Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and Professional Hygiene. According to Essity, each area will assume end-to-end responsibility for its product categories, including marketing, innovation, and supply chain. This structure is intended to increase operational efficiency and facilitate adaptation to regional market conditions in Europe.

The newly created business areas will each have a president, the company said. Tuomas Yrjölä, previously president of Global Marketing & Innovation, will become president of Personal Care. Volker Zöller, previously president of Consumer Goods EMEA, will take on the role of president of Consumer Tissue. Anand Chandarana will become president of Health & Medical, and Pablo Fuentes will become president of Professional Hygiene in the new organizational structure. The change will take effect on January 1, 2026, and segment-based financial reporting will be adjusted starting in the first quarter of 2026.

At the same time, Essity is launching a cost-saving program aimed primarily at reducing sales and administrative costs, while marketing expenses will remain unaffected. The goal is to achieve annual savings of around SEK 1 billion. The funds freed up will be reinvested in measures designed to promote volume growth. In addition, the long-term goal of reducing manufacturing costs by SEK 0.5 to 1 billion annually remains in place. According to Essity, the restructuring costs will mainly be related to staff reductions and will be reported in the interim report for the fourth quarter of 2025 at the latest.