Kodak to Close Plants, Cut Up to 2,500 Jobs

Eastman Kodak Co. said that it will close some plants and cut 2,000 to 2,500 jobs, resulting in a charge of $300 million in the third quarter, as it reported an 8.8% increase in profit for the latest quarter. Kodak’s net income, excluding one-time items, rose to $491 million, or $1.52 a share, in the second quarter, a penny higher than estimates, as revenue edged up 2% to $3.61 billion. Kodak’s sales of consumer film in the U.S. fell 8% as prices dropped 11%. Losses in digital photography, the recording of images on computer chips, narrowed to $28 million, from $45 million a year ago, and digital sales jumped 54% to $556 million, about 15% of overall sales. The job cuts complete a plan by the company announced in 1997 to slash its work force by 20,000 jobs, or about one-fifth of its work force, in an effort to reduce costs by $1.2 billion. Shares of Kodak, based in Rochester, N.Y., fell 25 cents to close at $73 on the New York Stock Exchange.