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Business

DuPont To Cut 2,500 Jobs

by Rick Mullin
December 8, 2008 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 86, Issue 49

Citing the impact of the recession on industrial production, DuPont is launching a restructuring program aimed at reducing capital spending by 10-20% and maximizing cash flow. The plan will eliminate approximately 2,500 jobs in the U.S. and Western Europe—about 4% of DuPont's workforce—principally in businesses related to auto manufacturing and construction. The company says it will rationalize "certain assets" and accelerate a productivity program launched earlier this year to deliver $600 million in pretax earnings benefit and $1 billion in working capital reduction in 2009. This program will involve the reduction of 4,000 contractors by the end of this year and additional reductions in 2009, as well as work schedule reductions at various sites. DuPont expects a loss of 60 to 70 cents per share for the fourth quarter, including a 40-cent charge for the restructuring. In other news, LyondellBasell Industries recently disclosed it will cut some 15% of its workforce, or about 2,500 jobs. And speaking at a Citigroup conference last week, executives from Eastman Chemical, Dow Chemical, and Nova Chemicals said they will slash capital spending this year and next.

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