Revlon to close plants, cut jobs

(Reuters) - Cosmetics maker Revlon Inc said it will close two of its plants, located in Maryland and France, and move those operations to reduce costs, cutting 250 jobs.

Revlon, whose stock has lost a tenth of its value this year, said it will also reduce the size of its French and Italian businesses and consolidate its operations in Latin America and Canada.

The New York-based company, which had a workforce of about 5,200 as of December 2011, said it will take a charge of about $25 million in the current quarter to account for the restructuring.

Revlon, which sells under such brands as Charlie, Almay and Mitchum, has been facing slowing sales as fewer shoppers bought products under its namesake cosmetics brand.

The company's products were being manufactured in North Carolina, Venezuela, France and South Africa and through third parties.

Its Venezuela plant, however, was destroyed by a fire in June, last year.

The company, which competes with L'Oreal, Estee Lauder Cos Inc and Elizabeth Arden Inc, expects to save about $10 million per year from the measures.

Revlon shares were down about 2 percent at $12.98 at midday on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Arpita Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)