ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 7, 1997 TAG: 9702070038
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK CLOTHIER STAFF WRITER
Federal-Mogul, Corp. said Thursday it is cutting 2,900 jobs and closing three U.S. locations, but none of the changes are expected to affect the 605 workers at its' Blacksburg facility.
Plant Manager Monte Engrebritson said manufacturing plants such as the Blacksburg facility were restructured earlier this decade.
The Blacksburg plant makes engine bearings; half of them for Chrysler, General Motors and Caterpillar. The other half of the facility's product is for the replacement bearing market.
The Michigan-based company is also selling or restructuring 162 international retail and wholesale units.
The restructuring announcement follows a review of Federal-Mogul's businesses under Richard Snell, a former Tenneco executive who was named chairman and chief executive in November.
``We have embraced a strategy to return Federal-Mogul to high levels of profitability and return on assets,'' he said in a statement. ``Prompt, decisive action was essential to improve our financial performance.''
The plan includes firing about 18 percent of the company's 15,700 employees; selling the 132 retail operations in Australia, Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Puerto Rico, South Africa and Venezuela.
Its 30 wholesale operations in 10 countries will be sold or restructured. Its production of lighting products will be consolidated in Juarez, Mexico, resulting in the closing of the Leiters Ford, Ind., plant.
Two of its three central distribution warehouses in Marysville, Ky., also will be closed.
Also, the company reported a net loss, after restructuring and special charges, of $211.1 million for 1996, equal to $6.26 per share of common stock, compared with a loss of $9.7 million, equal to 53 cents, in 1995. Before the special charges, the company would have earned a profit of $34.7 million, or 74 cents per share. Revenues for the year were $2.03 billion, up from $1.99 billion in 1995. The fourth quarter loss was $220.2 million, or $6.32 per share, on sales of $480.3 million, all after the special charges.
Bloomberg Business News contributed to this report.
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines KEYWORDS: JOBCHEKby CNB