Eastman Kodak is cutting between 3,500 and 4,000 more jobs, or up to 5 per cent of its work force, as the world's biggest photography company struggles to rebound from a year-long slump in film sales it blamed largely on a lagging US economy.
Kodak, which already targeted 3,500 job cuts in April, announced the new job cutting plans today as it reported that third-quarter profits sank 77 per cent to $96 million, or 33 cents a share, down from $418 million, or $1.36 a share, last year.
Sales dropped 8 per cent to $3.31 billion from $3.59 billion.
Kodak also warned that the deepening US economic downturn would likely drag down fourth-quarter profits. If pressure in its consumer and health imaging divisions persist, it said, earnings from operations will not exceed 15 cents a share, compared with $1.27 in last year's fourth quarter.
In the consumer imaging market, which includes cameras, film and photographic paper, its US sales fell 8 per cent from a year ago and earnings from operations plunged 45 per cent to $210 million.
Employment at Kodak peaked at 145,300 in 1988 but the company began whittling itself down in the 1990s by casting off health-care and chemical businesses and renewing its focus on photography.
In 1997, caught off-guard when Japanese archrival Fuji cut film prices, Kodak cut nearly 20,000 jobs.