Arco cuts jobs to make savings

30 June 1997 00:00  [Source: ICB]

Arco Chemical is to cut between 800 and 1300 jobs with the hope the redundancies will lead to a 20% saving in its $750m/year operating costs.

Some regional sales offices will probably face closure. However, the company added it is not expecting to close production facilities or exit any of its business areas. 'We remain committed to profitable growth in core businesses,' said a spokesman. Restructuring will be complete by the end of 1998, and the costs will be reflected in a special charge on 1997 earnings.

The company's profits have slid severely since 1995 when it made a record profit of $508m on sales of $4.3bn. Sales for 1996 fell below $4bn with profits diving to $350m, mostly due to price pressures on styrene monomer and MTBE, a trend that continued into the first quarter of this year (ECN 28 April 1997 page 13).

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