Monday, September 10, 2012

Eastman Kodak says it will cut an additional 1,000 jobs by the end of 2012, and is looking at further cuts - @Reuters

A Kodak film dispenser is seen in a photo store in London

A Kodak film dispenser is seen in a photo store in London (STEFAN WERMUTH, REUTERS / January 19, 2012)


(Reuters) - Bankrupt Eastman Kodak Co said it will cut 1,000 additional jobs by the end of this year and may cut more as it focuses on its commercial packaging and printing business.

The company, which invented the digital camera but had trouble adjusting to the digital age, has already reduced its workforce by about 2,700 worldwide since the beginning of 2012.

Kodak also said Chief Operating Officer Philip Faraci and Chief Financial Officer Antoinette McCorvey will leave the company, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January.

The company named Rebecca Roof as interim CFO.

Roof has served in similar capacities for other companies that have successfully emerged from Chapter 11 restructurings, and has experience in implementing cost reduction programs and executing asset sales, the company said in a statement.

Kodak, which is in the process of auctioning about 1,000 patents, needs to raise nearly $700 million to repay its creditors and exit bankruptcy.

The company said it expects to save about $330 million from the new job cuts.

The company announced plans last month to sell most of its consumer and document imaging businesses.

At the end of 2011, the company had about 17,100 employees, of whom about 8,350 were in the United States, according to its annual report.

The company did not disclose where the latest cuts would be made.

(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)