Johnson Controls to cut 5,000 jobs, close 16 factories

Johnson Controls Inc. announced on August 9 details of a worldwide restructuring that will eliminate 5,000 jobs and close 16 factories over the next 12 months, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper reported.

According to the paper, the Glendale, Wis.-based company outlined the cost-reduction plans in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. On June 30, Johnson Controls announced without elaboration that it absorbed a $197 million restructuring charge to cover upcoming costs of severance payments and plant closings.

The job cuts equal 3.7 percent of the group's 136,000-employee global workforce. Johnson Controls ranks No. 71 on the 2006 Fortune 500 list of America's biggest corporations.

According to the Journal Sentinel, the company's auto-supplier division accounted for 3,900 of the 5,000 job reductions. Among these cuts, 2,200 jobs are from the North American auto supply operations, with an additional 1,450 in Europe and 250 in Asia. This division manufactures interiors, including seats, door panels and dashboards.

Also, 14 of the 16 plant shutdowns come from the auto sector - 10 of them from North America, three in Europe and one in Asia.