Skip to main content

TomTom to cut costs and staff

TomTom has announced it is targeting substantial cost savings in 2012 through a reorganisation and reducing some 10 per cent of the workforce. A company statement said that its research and development activities will be regrouped in ten product units - maps, traffic, navigation, automotive systems, PNDs, fleet services, fitness, mobile, POIs and speedcams - in a drive to increase development efficiency and reduce time to market.
April 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSS1692 TomTom has announced it is targeting substantial cost savings in 2012 through a reorganisation and reducing some 10 per cent of the workforce. A company statement said that its research and development activities will be regrouped in ten product units - maps, traffic, navigation, automotive systems, PNDs, fleet services, fitness, mobile, POIs and speedcams - in a drive to increase development efficiency and reduce time to market.

At the same time, the number of full time jobs at TomTom will be cut by 457, which accounts for approximately 10% of the total workforce. 255 roles will be made redundant, half of which are in The Netherlands, with the remainder being achieved through attrition. A restructuring charge of €14 million will be booked in Q4 2011 in relation to the redundancies and rationalisation of office space.

"The new structure brings more transparency and accountability; makes it easier to make innovation choices and will reduce our time to market,” said TomTom CEO Harold Goddijn who confirmed the company’s target to achieve cash savings of approximately €50 million in 2012 compared to its previously announced guidance of €540 million of OPEX and €80 million of CAPEX in 2011. “The majority of the savings will be achieved in operating expenses, and will be most visible in general and administrative and marketing expenses. A larger proportion of R&D expenditure will be allocated to growth areas, our strategic assets (maps, traffic intelligence and navigation) and new initiatives.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • TomTom helping New York State fleet operators reduce fuel costs
    September 14, 2012
    TomTom Business Solutions, supplier of GPS and fleet management solutions, has announced an incentive program in conjunction with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to help New York commercial and government fleet operators improve fleet productivity and fuel efficiency. In partnership with the New York State Department of Transportation, NYSERDA is providing US$250,000 in funding toward this program which allows participating New York State businesses to receive special
  • Study says New Jersey voters strongly support red light cameras
    April 18, 2012
    The National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR) has released new research showing that New Jersey residents who took part in a survey it commissioned overwhelmingly support the use of red light safety cameras. The poll found that 77 per cent back the use of cameras at busy intersections in New Jersey, with 43 per cent saying they ‘strongly support’ the cameras.
  • Q-Free acquires Open Roads Consulting
    July 17, 2014
    Q-Free has signed a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) for the acquisition of Open Roads Consulting for a cash consideration of approximately US$6.2 million. Further consideration is dependent on future financial performance. The transaction is expected to be closed within the end of the third quarter 2014. The acquisition represents a milestone for Q-Free and is a strategically good match with other advanced traffic management systems (ATMS) and road user charging (RUC) activities within the group. It will
  • Infrastructure and the autonomous vehicle
    December 12, 2014
    Harold Worrall ponders the effect of autonomous vehicles on transportation infrastructure. For the last century the transportation industry has been focused on the supply of infrastructure to support the ever growing fleet of vehicles and the greater number of miles covered by each vehicle. Our focus has been planning, funding, designing, building and maintaining roadways. Politicians, engineers, planners, financial managers … all of us have had this focus. We have experienced demand growth since the first