Hanson, president Casey Wold and Antonio Bismonte will report directly to president and chief executive officer Christopher Mackenzie. Wold will oversee capital transactions, including an upcoming $1.44 billion in commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, as well as disposition of non-core North American assets. Bismonte will be in charge of operations and leasing, overseeing regional heads Steve Budorick, Paul Layne and Doug Winshall.

The layoffs, which include 19 senior managers, represents 15% of TrizecHahn's US and Canadian work force. TrizecHahn will take a charge of up to $40 million in the second quarter to pay for severance, benefits and other costs of the reorganization. The company expects to recoup $24 million in savings from the move in 2002 and 2003.

"This reinforces our continued commitment to focus on our core US office business, enhance our operating efficiency, and improve shareholder value," Mackenzie says. "The new management organization clarifies responsibilities and provides strong and aligned leadership from which to drive our strategy."

The cuts were signaled in investor conference calls in May, when Mackenzie indicated the company was looking at ways to streamline operations, including centralizing back-office operations. Among the initiatives are streamlining the leasing process, which company employees are examining rather than outside consultants hired by the company, according to Mackenzie.

"These are programs designed to improve our productivity and above all, customer service," Mackenzie said.

Most recently, TrizecHahn paid $76 million for its fifth Downtown Chicago holding, 550 W. Washington Blvd., giving it 6 million sf in the market, more than half of it in Sears Tower. The company uses 24,500 sf at Sears Tower for its Chicago staff but has not determined if it will need more space as a result of the consolidation.

Instant Insights /

TrizecHahn Cuts Staff on Both Sides of the Border, Consolidates

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