This is a good place to drop general and weird news, entertainment, and general show prep material that might be interesting to air talent or producers. Hot dog threads ALWAYS welcome.
Dow Chemical to slash 5,000 jobs, close 20 plants December 08, 2008 @ 10:16 AM
Herald-Dispatch.com
NEW YORK (AP) —
Dow Chemical Co. said Monday it will slash 5,000 full-time jobs — about 11 percent of its total work force — close 20 plants and sell several businesses to rein in costs amid the economic recession.
The company, one of the largest chemical makers in the world, expects the moves to save about $700 million per year by 2010. Dow also will temporarily idle 180 plants and prune 6,000 contractors from its payroll.
“We are accelerating the implementation of these measures as the current world economy has deteriorated sharply, and we must adjust ourselves to the severity of this downturn,” Chief Executive and Chairman Andrew N. Liveris said in a statement.
Last month, Dow Chemical had said it would review all options to reduce costs and eliminate or defer capital spending. “We are going to take necessary, bold and proactive measures to manage our transformation through these extremely challenging times,” Liveris said at the time.
The company said it will take a fourth-quarter charge of $700 million, or 50 cents to 60 cents per share, to cover $350 million in severance payments and $350 million worth of plant shutdown costs.
But the company denied it will suspend dividend payments as a way to conserve cash. In a conference call Monday, Liveris said Dow has paid a dividend each quarter for nearly 100 years, and has no plans to stop that trend.
“We will not break that string...not on my watch,” he said.
The Midland, Mich.-based company expects “the new Dow” to be comprised of three units: joint ventures; performance products; and health and agriculture, advanced materials and other market-facing businesses.
The reorganization comes just days after the company closed on its K-Dow Petrochemicals joint venture with a company controlled by the Kuwait government. The K-Dow venture, which both companies estimate will be worth about $17.4 billion, is slated to open by Jan. 1 and will market plastics and other related products. Dow and Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co. hope the venture will help them capture a larger share of the global chemicals market and boost profitability.
Dow also is slated to close on its $15.3 billion buyout of Rohm & Haas Co. early next year, a deal it hopes will help it grow into the high-margin specialty chemicals market. The company expects that deal to results in about $800 million in savings over time.
The joint venture and Rohm & Haas deal come as the global credit markets have all but ground to a halt, leading some to question the validity of high-priced deals amid the economic turmoil.
Dow Chemical’s latest actions follow those of rival DuPont, who last week said it would cut 2,500 jobs and warned it won’t turn a profit in the fourth quarter due to a severe slowdown in the automotive and construction markets.
Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont also is releasing 4,000 contractors by the end of this year, with additional contractor reductions expected in 2009, and will implement work schedule reductions and redeploy more than 400 employees on projects to reduce working capital and operating costs.
DuPont, one of the world’s largest chemicals makers, is stopping all discretionary spending, slowing or halting noncritical projects, and temporarily idling more than 100 manufacturing units. The year-long restructuring plan will affect about 4,200 employees, or roughly 7 percent of DuPont’s work force.
Shares of Dow Chemical jumped $1.24, or 6.5 percent, to $20.24 in morning trading. The stock is still worth less than half of its 52-week high of $45.50, set nearly a year ago. Shares of DuPont rose $1.17, or 4.9 percent, to $25.29, as the broader markets rallied early in the session.
Anheuser-Busch InBev to cut 2,065 jobs Anheuser-Busch InBev will cut 1,400 U.S. jobs in its beer-related divisions, or around 6 percent of the company’s U.S. work force, the world's largest brewer said Monday. http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/s ... aily6.html
NEW YORK (AP) - A terrible fall season at NBC is forcing the network to consider scaling back the number of hours it airs programming, Chief Executive Jeff Zucker told an investor conference Monday.
While NBC will continue to fund the creation of pilots, Zucker told analysts at a media investor conference sponsored by UBS that NBC is considering cutting the number of hours or perhaps even the number of nights it provides programming.
"Can we continue to program 22 hours of prime-time? Three of our competitors don't. Can we afford to program seven nights a week? One of our competitors doesn't," Zucker said. "All of these questions have to be on the table. And we are actively looking at all of those questions."
"Everyone Should be aware that you're just a screen grab away from infamy."
So is this another Dow joint venture with the Kuwait government? And will they license the Dow Unipol PP and PE technology for Polyolefin production like Equate has for the last 10+ years.
And what the hell does this mean for the folks in South Charleston, the remains of the Tech Center and the tiny bits still left at Institute????
The first step in a successful revolution is to defeat all competing revolutionaries.
Lester wrote:I'd buy you a beer to commiserate....
Anheuser-Busch InBev to cut 2,065 jobs Anheuser-Busch InBev will cut 1,400 U.S. jobs in its beer-related divisions, or around 6 percent of the company’s U.S. work force, the world's largest brewer said Monday. http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/s ... aily6.html
Sh!t... nevermind.
We saw this handwriting on the wall as soon as the InBev deal closed. And as an extra bonus, the price of a case of Stella Artois and Hoegaarden has dropped by $6.00 in Jersey and $10.00 in PA to where they cost the same as their American counterparts. Why drink a (Miller Coors) Blue Moon or Michelob Shock Top when you can have a real unfiltered Belgian white ale???
The first step in a successful revolution is to defeat all competing revolutionaries.
NEW YORK (AP) - A terrible fall season at NBC is forcing the network to consider scaling back the number of hours it airs programming, Chief Executive Jeff Zucker told an investor conference Monday.
They could program a hour long ..... Shamwow Show.
The reorganization comes just days after the company closed on its K-Dow Petrochemicals joint venture with a company controlled by the Kuwait government. The K-Dow venture, which both companies estimate will be worth about $17.4 billion, is slated to open by Jan. 1 and will market plastics and other related products. Dow and Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co. hope the venture will help them capture a larger share of the global chemicals market and boost profitability.
Dow also is slated to close on its $15.3 billion buyout of Rohm & Haas Co. early next year, a deal it hopes will help it grow into the high-margin specialty chemicals market. The company expects that deal to results in about $800 million in savings over time.
The joint venture and Rohm & Haas deal come as the global credit markets have all but ground to a halt, leading some to question the validity of high-priced deals amid the economic turmoil.
Dow Chemical’s latest actions follow those of rival DuPont, who last week said it would cut 2,500 jobs and warned it won’t turn a profit in the fourth quarter due to a severe slowdown in the automotive and construction markets.
KUWAIT (Reuters) -- Kuwait decided on Sunday to scrap a deal to form a $17.4 billion petrochemical joint venture with U.S. company Dow Chemical.
The cancellation of the deal, which had met opposition in Kuwait's parliament, is a blow to Dow (DOW.N), the largest U.S. chemicals company, which had planned to use the proceeds to repay a large part of $13 billion in debt it will have to shoulder once its acquisition of rival Rohm & Haas (ROH.N) closes in early 2009.
The Supreme Petroleum Council, at a meeting headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah, "arrived at the decision to cancel the contract," state news agency KUNA said.
State-run Petrochemical Industries Co (PIC) signed a deal earlier this month with Dow to launch the joint venture, K-Dow Petrochemicals, and was due to pay $7.5 billion. The deal was part of Dow's strategy to reduce its exposure to the cyclical nature of the commodity chemicals business.
The deal had angered some Kuwaiti parliamentarians who said the project was not economically viable in light of the global financial crisis and slumping petrochemical sales.
A cabinet statement said the global crisis had prompted the cabinet to ask the council "to take the necessary measures to cancel the contract ... within a sound legal framework while safeguarding the state's rights and interests," KUNA reported.
Four liberal MPs had threatened to question the prime minister, a senior member of the ruling family, unless the deal was scrapped.
Another move by some deputies to question Sheikh Nasser on another issue had prompted the cabinet to resign in November, though the ruler reappointed his nephew.
Parliament has a history of challenging the government with the same liberal MPs having opposed building the $15 billion Al-Zour refinery for which final contracts have not yet been signed despite an award in May.
Dow said in a statement Sunday, it was "extremely disappointed with the decision by the Kuwait Government, and is in the process of evaluating its options pursuant to the Joint Venture Formation Agreement." The Midland, Michigan-based company added that it "remains committed to its Middle East Strategy."
Dow and other chemical makers around the globe face one of the worst slumps ever in chemical demand, due to recessions in most developed countries and a sharp slowdown in emerging economies.
Earlier this month, Dow said it would close 20 facilities, divest several businesses and cut 5,000 jobs, or 11 percent, of its workforce. It also plans to temporarily idle about 180 plants.
Kuwait and Dow lowered the value of the joint venture more than 8 percent to $17.4 billion earlier this month after the Gulf Arab state asked to cut its contribution in light of a sharp slowdown in global demand.
The new company had been due to market petrochemicals and plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polycarbonate, used in products ranging from plastic bottles and compact disks to computers and agricultural compounds. In July, Dow said it would acquire Rohm & Haas for $15.3 billion in a move to broaden its specialty product offerings.
The first step in a successful revolution is to defeat all competing revolutionaries.
