WILMINGTON, DEL. (Oct. 24, 2012)—Poor third-quarter financial results are leading DuPont Co. to eliminate 1,500 jobs in the next 12-18 months.
No details are available as to how the cuts will be split among various DuPont businesses. Officials said the job cuts and other moves would save the firm $300 million in 2013 and $450 million annually beginning in 2014. The cuts represent about 2 percent of the firm's global work force.
Third-quarter sales at Wilmington-based DuPont fell 9 percent to $7.4 billion, and profits plummeted almost 98 percent to $10 million, when compared to the same quarter in 2011.
Company officials cited shortfalls in titanium dioxide and in its photovoltaics business as reasons for the poor showing.
“Today, we are taking additional actions to improve competitiveness and accelerate market-driven innovation and growth by fine-tuning the organization, eliminating costs and expanding beyond our everyday focus on productivity,” said Ellen Kullman, DuPont chairwoman and CEO.
In an Oct. 23 conference call, investor relations vice president Karen Fletcher said the firm's titanium dioxide and fluoropolymers businesses “were pressured” by declines in spending in infrastructure and construction in the Asia Pacific region and by ongoing weakness in Europe.
She added that in the fourth quarter, DuPont “expects continued softness while titanium dioxide producers reduce existing inventory levels.”