International Brotherhood of DuPont Workers

Jim Flickinger - President     

Donny Irvin - Vice President/Communications     Tony Davis - Vice President/ Organizing

Dave Gibson - Secretary/Treasurer 

Kenneth Henley - General Counsel 

"Workers Representing DuPont, Bemis and INVISTA Workers"

Go To Members Only Page

Member Local Update Page

DUPONT ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL 2000 JOB CUTS - IBDW LOCALS IMPACTED

DuPont Co. trimming 2,000 jobs

Worldwide layoffs include 88 positions at New Jersey Chambers Works plant

By ANDREW EDER • The News Journal • May 8, 2009

DuPont Co. said Thursday it will lay off 2,000 more employees worldwide and close or scale back an undisclosed number of sites as part of its latest restructuring plan.

The casualties include Marshall Laboratory in South Philadelphia, a 265-employee paint research and development facility that's slated to be closed at the end of June.

The cuts also include 88 positions at the Chambers Works in Deepwater, N.J., at the foot of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, according to a union official.

The latest cuts are in addition to a round of 2,500 layoffs announced in December. The cuts, expected to be completed this year, will trim DuPont's global work force 7.5 percent to 55,500. The company has also laid off 10,000 contractors since December.

DuPont spokesman Anthony Farina said the latest restructuring is in response to the global recession that has battered key markets for the company, including autos, construction and industrial applications, as firms cut capital spending.

Farina said the job cuts would occur in each of the company's five business segments, except for agriculture and nutrition. About 8,000 of DuPont's 27,000 U.S. employees are in Delaware.

Since December, when DuPont first announced job and production cuts, the severity of the decline has increased, Farina said. In April, the company said first-quarter profits were down 59 percent, with sales 20 percent lower than a year earlier.

Farina said some of the market shifts appear to be permanent -- for example, the automotive industry's shift to smaller cars -- and DuPont is trying to adjust accordingly.

"You use this time as an opportunity to get positioned for when the economy rebounds," Farina said. "You wouldn't do something like this while things are chugging along and the growth rates are double-digit. Now is the time."

DuPont said it would take a pretax charge of $340 million to $390 million in the second quarter for the restructuring plan. The company said the plan would provide a $70 million benefit this year and $225 million in annual savings by the end of 2010.

Back Home..

Send mail to jimflickinger@dupontworkers.com with questions or comments about this web site.