400 jobs will be cut at Timken

CLEVELAND (AP) — Bearings and specialty steels maker Timken Co. said Monday it will cut 400 salaried jobs this year, or almost 2 percent of its work force, as it reduces costs to match a slowing market for its products.

The Canton-based company said it expects the effort to generate pretax savings of $30 million to $40 million per year in selling and administrative costs. The company also expects to incur severance costs of $10 million to $15 million.

The cuts will be spread around Timken’s global operations, according to spokeswoman Lorrie Paul Crum.

Timken has about 25,000 employees, including 8,500 salaried workers. About 2,300 of its salaried employees, or 27 percent, are based in Canton and surrounding Stark County.

In the past 15 months, Timken has trimmed its hourly work force by 2,500 to about 17,200, reflecting production cuts. While the salaried cuts are meant to be permanent, the hourly job reductions could be reversed if production demands increase, Crum said.

Timken has shortened work weeks and reduced operating hours to better align production to slower demand. The company warned additional permanent adjustments might be necessary.

The recession has manufacturers cutting jobs at a rapid pace while new orders are falling.

The Timken cuts come amid an industrywide slump in steel demand among key buyers in the automotive, construction and industrial equipment sectors.

Steel prices, which reached all-time highs in the first half of 2008, plunged later in the year, and production at domestic steel mills dropped to levels not seen in a quarter century.