DuPont Co. (Wilmington, DE) said it will eliminate 1,700 Delaware-based jobs in the beginning of the year as the chemical company prepares for its merger with Dow Chemical Co (Midland, MI). Earlier this month, the two companies announced a megadeal where they would merge and form DowDupont and later break up into three independent companies.
“Given that we are in the middle of the holidays, we would have preferred to wait until individual notifications werecomplete before reporting the full local impact,” DuPont Chief Executive Officer Ed Breen said in a letter to employees. “However, by December 31st, we are legally required to file a notice with the Delaware State government detailing the expected local job reductions.”
On Dec. 11, when the merger with Dow was announced, DuPont said that it planned to cut its workforce of 54,000 by 10% and reduce costs by $700 million.
“The effect in Delaware will be significant, reflecting the urgent need to restructure our cost base and, as part of that effort, reduce our corporate overhead costs so that we can remain competitive,” Breen said Tuesday in the letter.
