August 25, 2005 – Kodak has announced that they are closing two facilities in Rochester, New York and reducing capacity at a film plant in China, resulting in 900 jobs being cut.
“These actions are regrettable because they impact our Kodak people whose performance has been outstanding, but they are necessary in light of the accelerated declines in consumer film and paper,” said Daniel T. Meek, Kodak’s director of Global Manufacturing and Logistics.
The two Rochester facilities will close as color photographic paper manufacturing is consolidated at Kodak’s plants in Windsor Colo., and Harrow, England. Kodak will also be closing a facility in Rochester that recycles and produces the polyester base for film, instead purchasing finished polyester base from outside suppliers.
Today’s announcement is the latest measure in Kodak’s restructuring program, originally announced in January 2004, with the intention of transforming the company into a digital imaging provider. As part of that program, Kodak has already cut 13,000 jobs and in July the company announced that it would cut up to 25,000 jobs total. Kodak ended 2004 with a workforce of 54,000.
Kodak said that charges totaling $153 million will be taken related to today’s actions, mostly due to asset write-offs and severance.
