US photography pioneer Eastman Kodak announced on Thursday it expected to cut up to 4,500 jobs after a “dramatic” decline in business amid a deepening recession.
The cuts came amid an estimated loss of US$133 million by the company in the fourth quarter of last year.
Kodak said in a statement that it expected to reduce its worldwide employment “by between 3,500 and 4,500 positions during 2009, approximately 14 to 18 percent of its total workforce.”
“These reductions, which include executive positions, have commenced and the company expects to implement the majority of the actions associated with this program in the first half of 2009,” it said. “The second half of 2008 will go down in history as one of the most challenging periods we have seen in decades,” Kodak chief executive Antonio Perez said.
During the last three months of last year, Kodak “experienced dramatic declines in several of our key businesses due to the slowdown in consumer spending and significantly reduced demand for capital equipment,” he said. “We are taking the necessary steps to address this environment and to position Kodak to recapture the momentum when the recovery occurs.”
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