(Bloomberg) -- Kenvue Inc. shares rose after the consumer health company announced a roughly 4% reduction in its global workforce as part of an efficiency plan intended to make it more competitive.

The cuts come as services provided to Kenvue by Johnson & Johnson are phased out as part of last year’s spin off from the pharmaceutical company. Kenvue, which didn’t offer details about which services from J&J were ending, expects to incur pre-tax restructuring costs of $275 million in each of the fiscal years 2024 and 2025 as a result of the cuts.

Kenvue had about 22,000 employees around the world at the end of last year, according to its 2023 annual report.

“These initiatives will enable Kenvue to adjust its cost structure and ways of working,” Chief Financial Officer Paul Ruh said in a statement. The company, whose stable of brands includes Listerine, Tylenol, Neutrogena and Aveeno, expects to reinvest a portion of the resulting annualized cost savings in the business. 

Kenvue shares gained 3.5% at 9:54 a.m. in New York. Through Monday’s close, Kenvue shares had fallen 11% this year, compared with an 8.6% gain for the S&P 500 Index.

The company also reaffirmed its full-year forecast and reported quarterly profit and sales for the period ended March 31 that beat expectations. The company has been struggling to boost sales and volumes for its US skincare business as competitors took market share during the pandemic and have largely held on to those gains. Volumes declined 3.1% in the first quarter, weighed down by skin health and beauty.

A return to growth for Neutrogena and Aveeno in the US may be a lengthy process, Chief Executive Officer Thibaut Mongon said during a conference call. 

“We are not where we want to be in terms of market share,” he said. “The recovery will take time and will not be linear.”

(Updates share price in fifth paragraph, adds CEO comments in last paragraphs)

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