Essity redefines its global structure to accelerate profitable growth

Essity, a global leader in hygiene and health, announced the launch of new measures aimed at creating better conditions for sustainable and profitable growth. The plan includes an organizational change that decentralizes decision-making and enhances overall accountability across each product category, as well as a cost-saving program expected to generate approximately SEK 1 billion in annual savings, fully effective by the end of 2026.

According to Ulrika Kolsrud, President and CEO of Essity, “these actions are designed to accelerate Essity’s growth rate and help the company reach its strategic goals more efficiently.”

The new structure will simplify operations, increase agility and efficiency, and strengthen customer and consumer focus. With this transformation, Essity aims to sharpen its strategic focus on categories and product segments with higher profitable growth potential.

The new organization will consist of four business areas: Health and Medical, Personal Care, Tissue, and Professional Hygiene, each with full responsibility for innovation, production, marketing, and sales. The current Consumer Goods area will be divided into Personal Care and Tissue, while the global units Global Marketing & Innovation and Global Supply Chain will be integrated into the four business areas.

 

New leadership appointments include Tuomas Yrjölä, currently President of Global Marketing & Innovation, who will lead Personal Care; Volker Zöller, President of Consumer Goods EMEA, who will head the Tissue division; and Anand Chandarana and Pablo Fuentes, who will serve as Presidents of Health and Medical and Professional Hygiene, respectively.

The organizational changes will take effect on January 1, 2026, and the new structure will be reflected in the company’s financial reports starting in the first quarter of 2026.

The cost-saving program will focus primarily on sales and administrative expenses, excluding marketing costs. Part of the savings will come from the organizational change and will be reinvested in profitable volume growth.

These savings will be reported in addition to those already achieved in the cost of goods sold (COGS), maintaining Essity’s annual target of SEK 500 million to SEK 1 billion. Restructuring costs, mainly related to workforce reductions, will be reported no later than the company’s Q4 2025 interim report.