Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK) - Get Report said on Thursday that in November it would reverse salary reductions and reinstate 401(k) retirement-plan matches for its U.S. employees.
The cuts were implemented in May due to the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Disciplined control of costs and a gradually improving market environment enable us to reverse these actions before the end of the calendar year, one month earlier than the plan we announced in July,” Blake Moret, chairman and chief executive of the Milwaukee provider of industrial automation and information services, said in a company statement.
That cost management, coupled with domain expertise, differentiated technology, and recent acquisitions, positions Rockwell toward accelerated profit growth, according to Moret.
For example, on Oct. 2 Rockwell said it acquired Oylo, a closely held industrial cybersecurity services provider based in Barcelona, Spain. Terms weren’t disclosed.
Rockwell Automation will report fiscal-fourth-quarter results on Nov. 10.
In April, the company said that it was eliminating discretionary spending across the organization and would implement temporary cost cuts in most worldwide locations.
The moves included salary cuts of 25% for Moret, 15% for senior vice presidents, and 7.5% for all other non-manufacturing employees worldwide.
The board also halved its cash fees. And the company match was suspended for U.S. employees participating in 401(k) retirement savings plans.
Earlier this month, Rockwell Automation said it expanded a partnership with Microsoft (MSFT) - Get Report in a five-year deal.
The cloud-based solutions on offer enable “development teams to digitally prototype, configure and collaborate without investing in costly physical equipment,” the companies said.
“This unified data environment also enables information-technology and operational-technology teams to not only securely access and share data models across the organization, but with their ecosystem of partners as well.”
At last check Rockwell shares were trading up 0.7% at $245.67. They are trading near their 52-week high of $249, set on Monday, and they have doubled off their 52-week low above $115, set in late March.