The former DuPont paint and coatings business is downsizing its operations and closing its Center City Philadelphia headquarters.
Axalta announced a restructuring program. “to more closely align its global organization with its two global business segments to drive improved performance. This realignment follows the restructuring program announced over the summer, and, together, the two initiatives are part of the company’s ongoing program to increase organizational effectiveness and enable growth.”
The program has included job cuts and giving global business units profit and loss responsibilities.
The company has also been viewed as a merger candidate.
Robert W. Bryant, Axalta’s CEO commented said an earlier review “provided us with valuable insights into areas where we had the opportunity to simplify and streamline our decision-making processes. Aligning our organization more directly with our businesses will enable us to focus on our customers and better support our growth objectives in each of our markets.”
Axalta will close its Center City Philadelphia offices. Employees will shift to either the new global headquarters at its existing offices in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, or to Axalta’s Global Innovation Center in the Philadelphia Navy Yard with key technical staff. “Bringing together our corporate, business, and technology teams will foster increased collaboration, accelerate innovation and enhance operational efficiency,” Bryant noted.
Axalta’s regional headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, and Shanghai, China, will continue to play important roles in the day-to-day management of Axalta’s people and resources as key business leadership at both regional and global headquarters will be strengthened as part of this process.
The organizational realignment will be effective January 1, 2021, and the Philadelphia office shifts will occur in mid-2021.
Since its sale to private equity owners and becoming a public company, Axalta has worked to get itself out from under the shadow of DuPont and align itself with Philadelphia’s business community.
Those moves included moving the headquarters in Philadelphia and opening an R&D center at the Navy Yard. The company did keep administrative operations in Glen Mills, north of the Delaware line.
Paint giant Akzo Nobel was in merger talks with Axalta in 2017, but discussions ended with no detail. A merger would have created a worldwide rival to PPG.
For more information on the company,, visit axalta.com.
