Restructuring continues at Thailand's largest conglomerate, Siam Cement Plc, despite the economic recovery - and it has already affected about one-eighth of the group's total workforce, according to local reports. The initial phase has seen the conglomerate shed Bt50 billion worth of non-core assets. Pretty well everything not related to its paper, petrochemical, building materials, cement and distribution operations was sold off after 1998.  But the refocused Siam Cement has also quietly rejigged other facets of its business over the past three to four years.  While the restructuring has focused on core businesses, the shared-services and outsourcing programmes have focused on core functions, such as production and marketing.  The group has spun-off its non-core functions, ranging from IT, logistics, accounting, building and facility management to legal, engineering, plant services and car fleets. Published under Cement News