PPG cutting 2,500 jobs companywide

PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE:PPG) will cut an additional 2,500 positions in its latest restructuring plan announced Thursday. The Downtown Pittsburgh-based paint and coatings maker blamed crumpling demand, especially in the automotive business, and the weak global economy for the restructuring, which will shutter a France plant and smaller unnamed labs, warehouses and distribution facilities across PPG’s international businesses. PPG spokesman Jeremy Neuhart said in an e-mail Thursday the company was not disclosing the affected locations because it had not yet notified all the employees. The largest number of cuts will take place in PPG’s automotive coatings and industrial coatings units, the company said. PPG had hinted at such action in its January fourth-quarter earnings call and its annual report released last week. The move will cost about $160 million and result in a pretax savings of about $60 million in 2009, growing to $140 million thereafter, the company said. Last September, PPG began closing plants in Canada and the Netherlands. It also idled an Illinois glass plant. Altogether 1,360 jobs were cut. “These are sweeping steps that will impact all of PPG’s business segments and regions,” Bunch said. “We are making significant structural changes to the way we operate our businesses. By implementing this program, we not only will be better able to weather today’s difficult conditions, we also will be a more efficient company coming out of the current economic downturn.” PPG also announced further cash-conserving measures, including employee furloughs and the elimination of company match to employees’ 401(k) plans.