CSR has announced a restructure of its Viridian Glass business that will cause about 110 redundancies, in a bid to lift profits.

The building products manufacturer said it is shutting down several parts of its south-east Melbourne glass-making business. Viridian Glass is now expected to generate a loss before interest and tax of around $6 to $8 million for the half year to 30 September 2011.

CSR said this restructure is estimated to cost $22 million, including approximately $12 million in capital and $10 million in other one-off restructuring costs (including redundancies). It is estimated this restructure will deliver around $10 million in ongoing annualised savings.

The company blames a weak construction sector as well as strong Australian dollar for the move.

The further deterioration in commercial construction and residential construction this financial period, together with the record appreciation in the Australian dollar, continue to impact the performance of Viridian, which is now expected to generate a loss before interest and tax in the range of $6-8 million for the six months to 30 September 2011, CSR said.

Changes to operations will be completed by next July.