AkzoNobel announced this week that it would be cutting around 2,000 positions globally.
Europe’s biggest paint maker, the Dutch company said it is slimming down headcount to enhance efficiency. The job cuts represent roughly 6% of AkzoNobel’s workforce.
“Over the last three quarters, we have demonstrated our ability to grow,” said AkzoNobel CEO Greg Poux-Guillaume in a company statement. “We aim to accelerate profitable growth by optimizing our functional organization to become more agile in volatile markets and offset headwinds such as rising labor costs.”
The cuts are just the lead end of a multi-year efficiency reorganization that won’t be done until 2026. The plan is a response to the company seeing a post-Covid slowdown in demand.
400 Women in Paint
We all know that the painting trade would benefit by attracting more women. Now we have a wonderful example of that from a union that’s stepping up.
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades is sending more than 400 tradeswomen from the U.S. and Canada to New Orleans for the Trades Women Build Nations Conference. Th
This will be the largest delegation of female painters that the painters union has ever sent to the annual event.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to attend,” said Mandy Jo Ganicany, who chairs the IUPAT Women’s Committee. “Together, we are showing other women that there’s a place for them in our union and in our industry.”
The IUPAT represents more than 140,000 active and retired craftspeople in the U.S. and Canada.
Colors of the Year
‘Tis the season for paint manufacturers to announce their colors of the year.
It seems almost every paint producer now picks from its lineup to declare an annual trendy hue.
These selections are treated like voodoo, mystically divining the future whims of consumers based on a vague reading of the current vibes.
The funny thing is, they never pick the same color. There’s actually a variety of colors “of the year.”
Behr’s Color of the year is Rumors MQ1-15, a ruddy paint described as both “timeless and modern.” If you want red, but don’t want to live inside a fire engine, this quieter color might be a winner.
Valspar says its Must Have hue in 2024 is Encore 8002-45G. The deep blue is said to “emulate both the elusive luxury of Old World design and the futuristic blending of our physical and digital world.”
Sherwin-Williams this year dropped Upward as its pick for paint of the year. Described as a “breezy, blissful blue,” it certainly looks like it makes for a soothing kitchen.
So what’s the real color of the year? Whatever your customer wants to pay you for.
