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Invensys to axe 5,000 jobs
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March 22, 2001: 5:25 a.m. ET
UK automation company to axe 5,000 jobs as U.S. slowdown begins to bite
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LONDON (CNN) - UK automation company Invensys issued a profit warning on Thursday and said it would cut 5,000 jobs by the end of the fiscal year.
Invensys, which makes goods such as controls for factory production lines and climate conditioning systems, said it expects second-half operating profit before one-time items to be "marginally below" the first-half level.
The statement wiped more than 12 percent off the company's share price, which fell to 113 pence in London. The company had already planned to reduce its workforce by 3,000 and now will eliminate another 2,000 jobs.
Shares in Invensys dropped 36 percent on September 7 last year when it issued a first-half profit warning and pledged significant staff reductions to cut costs.
Invensys, the latest in a raft of businesses on both sides of the Atlantic to cut its profits forecast, said the "deteriorating economic environment in the United States" and slowing growth rates in Asia and Europe were affecting cash flow.
"Like every company in our industry, we are watching the U.S. economy closely," said Allen Yurko, Invensys chief executive. "Whilst at this point it is not possible to be sure of the duration of the current downturn, we are committed to minimising the impact on our results."
Invensys was created in February 1999 from the merger of BTR PLC and Siebe PLC. 
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