Tractor giant to axe 7000 jobs
2 February 2000
Tractor giant to axe 7000 jobs
By FWi staff
FARM machinery giant CNH Global NV has announced that it is to cut 7000 jobs from its global workforce over the next two years.
CNH Global was formed late last year from the merger of Case Corp and New Holland.
The Wisconsin, USA-based company plans to close 10 plants and 15 warehouses around the world, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune.
The newspaper says that CNH Global does not yet know where the job cuts will fall, or which plants will close because it still is evaluating its operations.
As part of the merger deal, the European Commission insisted that the Case tractor plant in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, should be sold off.
This plant has an output of 13-15,000 units a year.
New Holland has a major plant in Basildon, Essex .
The redundancies and closures are part of CNH Globals plan to save $400-$500 million during the next three to four years.
CNH Global has 42 major production facilities and employs around 36,000 workers worldwide.
Meanwhile, the company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $35m, compared with a loss of $30m in the year-earlier period.
Revenue rose 66%, to $2.01bn from $1.21bn last year.
For 1999, CNH Global reported net income of $148m down 43% from $258m from 1998.
Revenue rose 10%, to $6.27bn from $5.70bn.
A downturn in the agricultural sector, what the company described as an “unfavourable product mix”, currency exchange rates and the impact of the merger are thought to have dragged down the bottom line.
Price increases and improved operating performance partly offset these, CNH Global said.
CNH Global expects sales of farm equipment in 2000 to be moderately lower than 1999.
There was little reaction to the news from Wall Street.