Rohm & Haas Eliminating 900 Jobs

Philadelphia, PA, Jan. 22, 2009--Rohm & Haas Co. said it will eliminate 900 jobs in the U.S.and overseas because of the recession that has hurt its core housing and electronics markets.
 
This is the second restructuring in eight months for the chemical giant. In June, Rohm & Haas announced 925 job cuts in the U.S., including plant closings.

The actions in June and yesterday take out about 12 percent of Rohm & Haas' workforce.

The new cuts will save about $90 million a year in operating costs. Rohm & Haas also said it would freeze discretionary spending and employee salaries where possible. The company said it expected fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations to exceed analysts' consensus estimate of 62 cents a share.

DuPont Co. and Dow Chemical Co., the nation's two biggest chemical companies, also recently announced thousands of job cutbacks.

Dow, based in Midland, Mich., has a deal to acquire Rohm & Haas for $78 a share, or $15.2 billion in cash. The deal, negotiated in July, is in limbo because Dow does not have final approval from the Federal Trade Commission and some of its financing fell through.