DuPont Decreases Costs and Jobs
The company is shifting from "low-growth areas" of nutrition and crop-protection to "high-value growth" areas such as plant genetics and biotechnology.
27/12/06 The agriculture and nutrition unit of DuPont has announced that it plans to close or streamline manufacturing units at 10 sites and cut about 1,500 jobs globally, reducing operating costs by about $100 million a year. The company is shifting from "low-growth areas" of nutrition and crop-protection to "high-value growth" areas such as plant genetics and biotechnology.
Under the plan, DuPont will reinvest all of the savings into its seed business. These actions will help expand the company's competitive advantage in the seed market and increase the speed to market of seed products with next-generation biotech traits.
In Latin America, total DuPont Agriculture & Nutrition sales exceeded the $1 billion mark for the first time in 2006 on the strength of gains in corn, soybean, crop protection, and soy protein products in Brazil and elsewhere. Excellent seed product performance and new crop protection product launches like picoxystrobin are driving growth in Brazil despite a difficult agricultural economy. Higher sales there will contribute to improved 2006 fourth quarter results compared to 2005. In addition, seed sales outside North America also passed the $1 billion milestone for the first time in 2006.
On a side note, the company said it will try to grow the The Solae Company's SoleCina business, which enables food processors to convert a proprietary blend of vegetable and meat protein into a nutritious finished product.
