WILMINGTON, DE — DuPont Co. announced plans to consolidate coatings manufacturing, R&D, marketing and administrative operations, primarily in Europe, as part of an ongoing integration program associated with the company’s 1999 acquisition of Herberts, the former coatings business of Hoechst AG.
DuPont said the actions will eliminate approximately 900 employment positions as a result of the closing of five European manufacturing facilities and transfer of their operations to regional, industry-focused “centers.” The job reductions will be carried out through a variety of early retirement and severance programs, the company said. The actions are expected to result in annual pretax savings of about $80 million.
DuPont said it will completely shut down sites at Minworth, UK, and Bonn, Germany. Manufacturing at Mantes in France will be discontinued, and parts of the operations at Guntramsdorf, Austria, and Cologne, Germany, will be closed. Service functions will continue at some of the sites to ensure continued local service for customers. DuPont said it expects to take an unspecified restructuring charge in the second quarter, principally for employee-separation costs.
“These difficult but necessary actions will enable our business to improve customer focus while strengthening our business performance, and thus contribute more strongly to DuPont’s goals of sustainable growth,” said Louis Savelli, DuPont group vice president.
