Cosmetics, Avon | featured news

Avon is eliminating more than 400 positions and abandoning or restructuring smaller or underperforming businesses in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, including an exit from Ireland. The company said Monday that the job cuts, which equate to about 1 percent of Avon's 39,100 employees, will occur across all regions and segments. It is part of a turnaround plan under CEO Sheri McCoy, with the goal of achieving mid-single digit percentage revenue growth and $400 million in cost savings by 2016.

Avon says it's considering a sweetened buyout offer of almost $10.7 billion from Coty Inc. Avon says that it expects to respond to the new offer within a week.

Avon Products Inc's next chief executive officer will face a litany of challenges. One of the biggest will be to re-energize the iconic "Avon Ladies," the company's diminished and often demoralized army of U.S. sales representatives.