DuPont Automotive Systems, Troy, Mich., the automotive original equipment coatings unit of DuPont, announced in May that it will reduce its workforce at the Troy site by 50 people, effective July 1, through company redeployment, normal attrition and, as needed, severance programs. The positions affected include coatings laboratory technicians, sales and marketing, technical field and support personnel. Other DuPont automotive businesses in plastics, elastomers and air-conditioning refrigerants operating out of the Troy site are not affected.

"This difficult decision to go beyond ongoing productivity improvements and variable cost reductions is in response to lower than forecasted vehicle build schedules and rising raw materials costs that have been difficult to pass on," says Stephen L. Cox, vice president - Americas, DuPont Automotive Systems. "We are undertaking extra efforts to identify open positions in other businesses within DuPont to minimize the numbers of people who would otherwise have to leave the company."