From jean makers to banks, companies worldwide slash jobs

Bloomberg News Service

Hawai'i companies have not been alone in announcing job cuts since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The economic slowdown has taken its toll on hundreds of companies worldwide as they struggle to cope with a dramatic drop in business. Industry analysts say the job cuts and reductions that have been announced could reach a record this year.

Here are some of the major companies announcing cuts:

• Alcan Inc., the No. 2 aluminum producer, said Oct. 17 it planned to fire as much as 7 percent of its work force as third-quarter earnings dropped 17 percent on a slump in demand for the metal.

• BP Plc, the third-largest publicly traded oil company, said Nov. 13 it would fire up to 1,000 workers in the next two years at its Grangemouth, Scotland, plant to modernize the 50 year-old complex and cut costs.

• Casio Computer Co. said Nov. 14 it had a fiscal first-half loss as prices of electronic parts and consumer products tumbled. That prompted the maker of G-Shock watches and Cassiopeia handheld computers to cut 3,000 jobs, or 17 percent of its work force.

• ChevronTexaco Corp., the No. 2 U.S. oil company, said Nov. 19 it increased job cuts as part of a plan to save $1.8 billion annually by March 2003. The company, formed by Chevron Corp.'s $45.8 billion buyout of Texaco Inc., planned to trim its work force by 4,000, or 7 percent, to 53,000.

• Citigroup Inc., the largest U.S. financial-services company, said Nov. 14 it will cut 7,800 jobs to reduce costs after its $12.5 billion purchase of Mexico's Grupo Financiero Banamex SA.

• Deutsche Bank AG said Nov. 1 it plans to shed about 4,500 jobs, bringing announced reductions to 7,100, to save money as profit at Europe's biggest bank drops. The cuts will reduce the company's work force by 7 percent.

• KPMG Consulting Inc., a seller of technology-related consulting and services, said Nov. 2 it will fire 300 to 400 employees, or about 3 percent of its work force, because of falling demand. The company had about 10,000 employees.

• Lockheed Martin Corp., the largest defense contractor, said Nov. 7 it will eliminate about 360 jobs at its Space Systems business, which was supposed to build four satellites and provide services for the company's failed Internet telecommunications venture. The cuts, which represent about 1.4 percent of the unit's work force, will be accomplished through firings, attrition and transfers, and will take place in Denver and Sunnyvale, Calif.

• Prudential Plc, Britain's second-largest insurer, said Nov. 2 it will cut 2,100 jobs, and sell its property and casualty unit to Credit Suisse Group to cut costs.

• Scandinavian Airlines System said Nov. 6 it's cutting another 2,500 jobs and reducing seating capacity by a further 5 percent.

• VF Corp., the maker of Lee and Wrangler jeans, plans to fire 13,000 workers, an 18 percent reduction, as the company quits making private label T-shirts and specialty work clothing, and tries to sell its Jantzen swimwear division.

• Vought Aircraft Industries, a unit of Carlyle Group Inc., said Nov. 8 it's firing 1,200 workers, or 20 percent of its work force, as the maker of airplane tails and wings struggles with falling sales.