News – full story
DuPont’s quarterly earnings dropped by 9%
23/10/2012
DuPont cuts 1,500 jobs as earnings drop
Blames weak economy for missed profit targets
Richard Jansen
CHEMICALS giant DuPont has announced plans to cut 1,500 jobs across the globe, blaming falling profits and sluggish demand.
The company saw its quarterly earnings drop by 9% compared to the same period last year, down to US$7.4bn. The biggest drops came from its performance chemicals and electronics and communications divisions, which DuPont chair and CEO Ellen Kullman attributed to “weaker than expected demand in titanium dioxide and photovoltaic markets.”
As a common additive in paints, titanium dioxide has been especially badly hit by the continuing economic troubles in Europe, which have dramatically reduced the amount of construction projects in the region. Weak demand for fluoropolymers – such as the company’s Teflon coating – also contributed to an almost 20% drop in sales for the performance chemicals unit.
“We are addressing these challenges now to position ourselves for improved performance,” says Kullman, adding that she expects the job losses and other cuts to save the company around US$450m/y.
Around half of the 1,500 positions will be from DuPont’s automobile paints business, which is expected to be sold to Carlyle by the end of the year. Once the business has officially separated from DuPont, the company will cut the legal and human resources staff that had previously been supporting it.
The remaining positions will be cut from across DuPont’s 70,000-strong international workforce, who are being offered a US$242m pot of severance pay.
