Federal-Mogul to Eliminate 4,200 Jobs

Federal-Mogul Corp. said it is firing 4,200 people, or about 10% of the auto parts company’s work force, as it steps up efforts to wring out costs resulting from an aggressive acquisition program. The job cuts and a related first-quarter pretax charge of $48 million are about twice as large as Federal-Mogul previously said it expected. Excluding the charge, the company said, its first-quarter operating profit doubled to $29 million, or 63 cents a share, for the quarter, from $14 million, or 32 cents, for the year-ago period. It had been expected to earn 43 cents a share. The Southfield, Mich.-based company also slashed its quarterly dividend to 0.25 cent from 12 cents a share. The company said it will close four factories and seven warehouses. It expects to save $238 million over the next two years, or six times more than originally planned.