Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Corning mum about effect of 3,500-job cut on N.E sites

By Mass High Tech staff

In its announcement today of fourth quarter earnings, Corning Inc. reported it plans to cut about 3,500 jobs over the course of 2009.

Based in Corning, N.Y., the glass products giant has a sizeable presence in New England, most notably at its laboratory products facility in Lowell, which employs about 800 workers. A company spokesman said that Corning hasn’t yet announced which specific operations will be affected by the cuts, and that over the course of the next few weeks the company will visit each location and discuss what the restructuring means for that operation.

Corning says the restructuring actions will result in first-quarter charges in the range of $115 million to $165 million before taxes, as well as fourth-quarter restructuring charges of $22 million. About 90 percent of the charge is for cash termination benefits, most of which will be paid in 2009, officials said.

About 1,500 of the staff reductions will come from salaried employees, and the company said it is also in the process of reducing more than 1,400 temporary workers. Some workers will be offered early retirement, and some manufacturing facilities will be consolidated. The company has also suspended merit pay raises for its salaried employees.

Corning says it should pull in savings of $150 million to $200 million as a result of the restructuring.