MeadWestvaco Corporation recently announced a series of broad actions to reduce corporate and business unit overhead expenses, including closing or restructuring 12-14 manufacturing locations.

This will result in the elimination of approximately 2,000 positions, or 10 percent of MWV’s global workforce, by year end with approximately 800 of the reductions expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter,” the packaging manufacturer said in a release.

MeadWestvaco expects these measures to generate USD100 million in cost savings in 2009.