Corning to cut 3,500 jobs in 2009

High-tech glass and maker Corning Inc announced restructuring plans that will involve cutting staff by 13 per cent by the end of 2009. The company will cut 3,500 jobs, introduce and an early retirement programme, effect global workforce reductions and undertake consolidation of manufacturing facilities.

The restructuring efforts are aimed to save the company $150 million to $200 million a year.

The company announced a fall of 30 per cent in sales for the fourth quarter of 2008 from the previous year with earnings per share plummeting 70 per cent over the same period in 3007. Its fourth quarter net income fell to $249 million from $768 million, a year earlier, with earnings per share falling from 49 cents a share to 16 cents a share.

According to Wendell Weeks, chief executive officer, the company experienced a significant momentum shift many of its core businesses in the fourth quarter with the recession taking hold. The company is now in the process of adjusting its operations to reflect the lower expected sales in 2009.

Corning's job cut announcement comes in the wake of more than 50 companies announcing job cuts totaling more than 210,000 in January alone.

With the declining economy, demand, especially from manufacturers that use liquid crystal displays in flat-panel displays, in flat-panel televisions and computer displays has fallen. The slowdown has been especially severe among Corning's customers in Taiwan.