US food group McCormick & Co. is to transfer "certain activities" within its Europe, the Middle East and Africa business to Poland as part of fresh moves to cut costs and improve efficiency in the region.

The company expects annual savings of US$16m but the costs of the moves has led it to lower its forecast for annual earnings and operating profit.

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McCormick said its shared services centre in the Polish city of Lodz would take on "certain additional activities", without specifying the nature of the roles.

It did disclose the move was subject to "consultation processes" with employees and staff representatives in the region.

Officials at the US HQ of the Schwartz and Ducros brand owner did not return a request for further comment.

In recent years, beyond its ongoing efforts to improve productivity, McCormick has been looking to other ways to lower costs and boost efficiency across its business to offset raw material costs and invest in supporting brands.

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However, the company said it had identified "additional projects" in its business in the EMEA region, which includes the switch of roles to Poland.

The company expects to record around US$25m of charges related to the moves in EMEA. It expects to recognise around $24m of the costs in 2015, which is expected to lower earnings per share on a reported basis by $0.13 to between $3.15 and $3.22.

The increase in special charges has also meant McCormick now expects its operating income to decline by 2-4% on a reported basis, a cut of four percentage points from its previous forecast.

Annual cost savings from the moves are projected to reach around $16m by the end of 2017.

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