Kodak cutting up to 6,000 jobs to cope with slump in earnings

<br>ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) _ Eastman Kodak Co. said Wednesday it would cut 4,500 to 6,000 jobs, or up to 9 percent of its work force, as it struggles with a nearly three-year slump in film sales. <br><br>The

Wednesday, July 23rd 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) _ Eastman Kodak Co. said Wednesday it would cut 4,500 to 6,000 jobs, or up to 9 percent of its work force, as it struggles with a nearly three-year slump in film sales.

The world's largest photography company has blamed its troubles on a sluggish economy and the rapid growth of filmless digital picture-taking.

The company eliminated 7,000 jobs last year, shrinking its work force to 70,000 people, and said in January it would cut another 1,800 to 2,200 jobs.

Kodak posted sharply lower second-quarter earnings Wednesday of $112 million, or 39 cents a share, down from $284 million, or 97 a share, a year ago.

Excluding one-time items, however, earnings were $172 million, or 60 cents a share, sharply higher than Kodak's lowered forecast of 25 cents to 35 cents a share. That beat the consensus forecast of 29 cents a share among analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.

Sales totaled $3.352 billion, unchanged from the second quarter of 2002.