Chemical giant DuPont to cut 3,500 jobs, mostly in North America and Europe

<br>WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) _ DuPont Co. plans to eliminate 3,500 jobs, or about 6 percent of its work force, by the end of this year as part of a previously announced plan to cut costs. <br><br>The job

Monday, April 12th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) _ DuPont Co. plans to eliminate 3,500 jobs, or about 6 percent of its work force, by the end of this year as part of a previously announced plan to cut costs.

The job cuts announced Monday by the chemical giant include eliminating about 3,000 positions through severance programs and 500 through attrition. Most of the lost jobs will be in North America and Western Europe.

The company will also eliminate 450 contractor positions.

In December, the company announced plans to trim $900 million in costs over the next two years. The job cuts announced Monday are expected to create about $325 million a year in savings.

``These actions will help assure the near- and long-term competitiveness of our businesses worldwide,'' said Charles O. Holliday Jr., DuPont's chairman and CEO.

DuPont expects to take a one-time second quarter charge of about 17 cents to 19 cents per share as a result of the restructuring, largely for severance costs.