Manpower Inc. to Acquire CRI Inc. to Strengthen U.S. Market Presence in Recruitment Process Outsourcing

MILWAUKEE, March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Manpower Inc. , a world leader in the employment services industry, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire CRI Inc., a leading recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) service provider headquartered in Los Angeles. CRI will operate under the Manpower Business Solutions (MBS) service line within Manpower North America.

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"This acquisition of CRI is part of our strategy to strengthen our presence in the rapidly growing RPO market. Our leadership in RPO allows us to help our clients grow nationally, as well as globally, by providing them with access to an experienced network of recruitment professionals who specializes in recruiting key talent such as sales, IT, engineering and finance professionals," said Jonas Prising, President of Manpower North America.

MBS is a global Manpower service line where the company takes on the management of customized, large-scale recruiting and workforce-intensive initiatives for clients, including managing a company's entire recruitment process. Through MBS, Manpower currently delivers RPO solutions to clients in over 20 countries worldwide.

"CRI is a great, strategic fit because both companies operate with a high performance approach to obtaining business results and driving continuous improvement," said Sheldon Schur, Vice President and General Manager of Manpower Business Solutions in North America. "CRI also has a proven approach for defining and delivering a high-touch candidate experience and branding their clients as employers of choice -- a critical factor in today's market, as companies fiercely compete for talent."

Founded in 1997 by Ladd and Julie Richland, CRI has grown quickly into a premier RPO provider with a client base that includes Fortune 1000 and emerging growth companies. Recently named Top RPO firm for the third consecutive year by HRO Today magazine, CRI has earned a strong reputation for its comprehensive and customized suite of recruiting and staffing solutions, which can dramatically increase the quality of hires.

"Our clients have expressed increasing interest in multinational and global RPO programs," said Ladd Richland, CRI co-founder and CEO. "With Manpower's global network and established leadership position, we are excited to have the opportunity to provide them with more robust RPO solutions."

About CRI Inc.

CRI (http://www.crihire.com/) is a premier global Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) service provider dedicated to helping Fortune 1000 and emerging growth companies build talent-driven organizations through identifying, hiring and retaining exemplary staff.

About Manpower Inc.

Manpower Inc. is a world leader in the employment services industry; creating and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2008, the $21 billion company offers employers a range of services for the entire employment and business cycle including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement; outsourcing and consulting. Manpower's worldwide network of 4,500 offices in 80 countries and territories enables the company to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, including small and medium size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world's largest multinational corporations. The focus of Manpower's work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction across their total workforce, enabling clients to concentrate on their core business activities. Manpower Inc. operates under five brands: Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management. More information on Manpower Inc. is available at http://www.manpower.com/ or http://www.us.manpower.com/.