Americold Launches "Fit for Purpose" Initiative, Advancing Strategic Priorities With Targeted Incremental Annual Overhead Savings of More Than $25 Million
- Builds on previously announced actions to reduce indirect labor and SG&A by $30 million, and expected project spend by $50 million, year-over-year
- Reflects the next phase of Americold's focus on operating discipline and cost efficiency, enabled by prior investments
- Expected to further enhance execution and strengthen customer delivery across the global platform
ATLANTA, May 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Americold Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:COLD), a global leader in temperature-controlled logistics, real estate, and value-added services, today announced the launch of its Fit for Purpose initiative, a program targeted at driving efficiency and streamlining its overhead structure to deliver greater value for customers and enhance long-term shareholder value creation. The Company expects to realize more than $25 million in incremental run-rate savings by the end of the first quarter of 2027 when the program is anticipated to be fully implemented.
Over the past several years, Americold has invested significantly to enhance its value proposition and operational capabilities, including through investments across hiring, training, retention, associate development, and technology infrastructure. With many of these initiatives now firmly embedded in the Company's operating model, Americold is focused on translating those investments into greater efficiency and effectiveness.
"Since stepping into the CEO role, my focus has been on ensuring Americold delivers for our customers and shareholders, while empowering our people with greater clarity and ownership," said Rob Chambers, Chief Executive Officer of Americold. "Driving a simpler, more cost-efficient overhead model is one of our Strategic Priorities for the year, leading to increased agility and collaboration. Through the Fit for Purpose initiative, we intend to maximize the benefits of the investments we've made to drive clearer accountability, faster execution and stronger performance across the organization."
Fit for Purpose represents the next phase of Americold's efficiency and execution journey, building on the significant progress the Company has already made since Q4 2025 to reduce indirect labor and SG&A expenses and deliver year-over-year spend reductions. These changes are expected to streamline workflows, reduce cycle times, and enhance responsiveness to customers.
With an expected incremental run-rate savings across SG&A and regional overhead of over $25 million, this initiative represents a meaningful step toward a more efficient and agile organization. Americold expects to realize approximately one-third of these savings in 2026, with the full run-rate achieved by the end of the first quarter of 2027. These actions further support the Company's conviction in achieving its previously announced full-year 2026 financial outlook.
"This is about building a stronger foundation – one that supports our customers, enables our teams, and creates value for our shareholders," Chambers said. "We are taking deliberate steps to ensure Americold is positioned to support key customer segments and geographies, while delivering sustainable, long-term performance across our global platform."
About Americold
Americold (NYSE:COLD) is a global leader in temperature-controlled logistics and real estate, with a more than 120-year legacy of innovation and reliability. With more than 220 facilities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and South America – totaling approximately 1.4 billion refrigerated cubic feet – Americold ensures the safe, efficient movement of refrigerated products worldwide.
Our facilities are an integral part of the global food supply chain, connecting producers, processors, distributors, and retailers with tailored, value-added services supported by responsive and reliable supply chains. Leveraging deep industry expertise, smart technology, and sustainable practices, Americold delivers world-class service that creates lasting value for our customers and the communities we serve. Visit www.americold.com to learn more.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements about future events and expectations that constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future financial and operating performance and growth plans, taking into account the information currently available to us. These statements are not statements of historical fact. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations of future results we express or imply in any forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on such statements. Factors that could contribute to these differences include the following: failure to achieve the anticipated cost savings or other expected benefits from our cost saving or other operational improvement initiatives, including, but not limited to, the Fit for Purpose initiative, on the timeline currently anticipated, or at all; failure to consummate our joint venture with EQT on the terms or timeline currently anticipated, or at all, due to the failure to satisfy closing conditions, obtain necessary approvals or consents, or other factors beyond our control; failure to achieve the anticipated benefits, synergies or returns from our joint venture with EQT, including as a result of unanticipated costs or liabilities, difficulties in integrating joint venture operations, or the failure of the joint venture to perform in accordance with our expectations; failure to execute on growth strategies and opportunities; geopolitical conflicts, including the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, and any related or resulting disruptions, including increasing energy costs; rising inflationary pressures, increased interest rates and operating costs; national, international, regional and local economic conditions, including impacts and uncertainty from trade disputes and tariffs on goods imported to the United States and goods exported to other countries; periods of economic slowdown or recession; labor and power costs; labor shortages; our relationship with our associates, the occurrence of any work stoppages or any disputes under our collective bargaining agreements and employment related litigation; the impact of supply chain disruptions; risks related to rising construction costs; risks related to expansions of existing properties and developments of new properties, including failure to meet budgeted or stabilized returns within expected time frames, or at all, in respect thereof; uncertainty of revenues, given the nature of our customer contracts; acquisition risks, including the failure to identify or complete attractive acquisitions or failure to realize the intended benefits from our recent acquisitions; difficulties in expanding our operations into new markets and products; uncertainties and risks related to public health crises; a failure of our information technology systems, systems conversions and integrations, cybersecurity attacks or a breach of our information security systems, networks or processes; risks related to implementation of the new ERP system; risks related to defaults or non-renewals of significant customer contracts; risks related to privacy and data security concerns, and data collection and transfer restrictions and related foreign regulations; changes in applicable governmental regulations and tax legislation; risks related to current and potential international operations and properties; actions by our competitors and their increasing ability to compete with us; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; the potential liabilities, costs and regulatory impacts associated with our in-house trucking services and the potential disruptions associated with our use of third-party trucking service providers for transportation services to our customers; liabilities as a result of our participation in multi-employer pension plans; risks related to the partial ownership of properties, including our JV investment; risks related to natural disasters; adverse economic or real estate developments in our geographic markets or the temperature-controlled warehouse industry; changes in real estate and zoning laws and increases in real property tax rates; general economic conditions; risks associated with the ownership of real estate generally and temperature-controlled warehouses in particular; possible environmental liabilities; uninsured losses or losses in excess of our insurance coverage; financial market fluctuations; our failure to obtain necessary outside financing on attractive terms, or at all; risks related to, or restrictions contained in, our debt financings; decreased storage rates or increased vacancy rates; the potential dilutive effect of our common stock offerings, including our ongoing at the market program; the cost and time requirements as a result of our operation as a publicly traded REIT; and our failure to maintain our status as a REIT.
Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "continues," "estimates," "expects," "goal," "objectives," "intends," "may," "opportunity," "plans," "potential," "near-term," "long-term," "projections," "assumptions," "projects," "guidance," "forecasts," "outlook," "target," "trends," "should," "could," "would," "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements may contain such words. Examples of forward-looking statements included in this press release include, but are not limited to, those regarding the Fit for Purpose initiative and the anticipated cost savings therefrom. We qualify any forward-looking statements entirely by these cautionary factors. Other risks, uncertainties and factors, including those discussed under "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements we make. We assume no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future except to the extent required by law.
Americold Contacts:
Investor Relations
Telephone: 678-459-1959
Email: investor.relations@americold.com
Media Relations
Telephone: 762-821-9631
Email: mediarelations@americold.com
