OREANDA-NEWS. January 18, 2016. Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG), a national leader in the recycling and waste services industry, announced today changes to its organizational structure and customer engagement model that are designed to better serve its 14 million customers. Today's announcement is a natural extension of the many customer-focused programs and initiatives recently launched by the Company. These programs differentiate its service offering, build customer loyalty and increase the quality of revenue for the products and services it offers.

"The organizational improvements we announced today further strengthen our customer focus by investing in resources closer to the customer. This streamlined structure will allow our local teams to be more nimble and effective in serving our customers and differentiating our product offering across the country," said Donald W. Slager, president and chief executive officer.

Background to the Improvements:
Republic has realigned its field support functions by combining two organizational layers into one. This includes the elimination of its three Regions, the consolidation of its 20 Areas into 10 and the streamlining of select roles at its Phoenix Headquarters. Republic will reinvest and deploy resources into its Area levels through the creation of 10 Area Offices equipped with an enhanced team of operators and functional support roles. These Area teams will be the resource epicenter for the Company's 165 Business Units that serve its customers across 240 markets each day.

As part of the improvements, Republic will be consolidating its call center operations. Over the next two years, the Company will consolidate over 100 customer service locations into three Customer Resource Centers. The new state-of-the-art facilities and the technology deployed will provide its customer service employees with the tools and capabilities they need to provide better service to customers across a myriad of touch points, including voice, email, text, social channels, and live chat.

Investing for Growth:
Republic plans to invest approximately \\$20 million in 2016 to design and implement its Customer Resource Centers and other customer-focused initiatives, and expects these initiatives to contribute approximately \\$10 million of annual cost savings beginning in 2018.  Additionally, the Company anticipates annual cost savings of approximately \\$25 million from the organizational realignment.  The costs to implement the initiatives and savings from the realignment were included in the Company's 2016 preliminary outlook announced on October 29. Republic expects to incur restructuring charges of approximately \\$35 million, or 6 cents of EPS, during 2016. The restructuring charges will be excluded from the Company's Adjusted EPS and Adjusted Free Cash Flow. 

Slager added, "The approach we are taking to execute our Company strategy of profitable growth through differentiation centers around consistently delivering the highest level of customer service – one that offers a differentiated experience of easy solutions, reliability and environmental responsibility while successfully balancing our commitment to creating long-term shareholder value. The initiatives and realignment of our organization will improve our performance in meeting these objectives."

About Republic Services
Republic Services, Inc. is an industry leader in U.S. recycling and non-hazardous solid waste.  Through its subsidiaries, Republic's collection companies, recycling centers, transfer stations and landfills focus on providing effective solutions to make proper waste disposal effortless for their commercial, industrial, municipal, residential and oilfield customers. We'll handle it from here.™, the brand's tagline, lets customers know they can count on Republic to provide a superior experience while fostering a sustainable Blue Planet™ for future generations to enjoy a cleaner, safer and healthier world.