Ball bearing maker Timken said on March 2 it would eliminate 400 more jobs than earlier planned to help realign production with weakening demand in a slow economy.
The company, which has already cut 2,500 jobs in the past 15 months, made the cuts to "align our organization for effectiveness and to right-size our cost structure to increase our competitiveness in today's global markets," said James Griffith, chief executive.
The company has targeted savings of $30 to $40 million in annual selling and administrative costs by 2010, but will require severance costs of $10 to $15 million.
In addition to cutting jobs, the Canton, Ohio-based firm has implemented short work weeks and reduced operating hours.
"We're balancing capacity through reduced labor and output," Griffith said. "Our focus now is to align our administrative and sales functions to be more effective in today's challenging environment. As we operate with a leaner organization, we will continue to focus on improving profitability and cash flow -- as we strengthen the Timken brand across the globe."
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
