Plans by the third-largest US chemical manufacturer, DuPont Co., to eliminate an additional 2,000 jobs will bring the total workforce reductions to 7.5%, reports Bloomberg.com. DuPont has already eliminated 2,500 employees and 10,000 contractors since late last year. Citing needs to reduce costs amid persistently weak demand, DuPont says the job cuts and related plant closings will save the more than US $70 million this year and $225 million a year by the end of 2010, according to the company. A pretax charge of $340 million to $390 million will be taken in the second quarter, with 60% in cash. Chief Executive Officer Ellen Kullman said last month she plans to slash DuPont’sfixed costs by $1 billion, $270 million more than the company’s previous target.
Without going into detail on specific cuts or plant closings, Company Spokesman Anthony Farina says that DuPont, which operates in 70 countries, will eliminate jobs in all regions. However,DuPont said in a regulatory filing the job cuts will be in all units except agriculture. In the last quarter, DuPont’s sales volumes fell 19%, with declines in all business segments except agriculture.
Other chemical makers are slashing jobs amid falling global demand. Dow Chemical Co., the largest US chemical maker by sales, is eliminating 10,000 jobs, and BASF AG, the world’s biggest chemical maker, is cutting 2,000 employees.