In Brief : Newly Acquired Kraft Plans Cuts

Kraft Inc., the newly-acquired subsidiary of Philip Morris Cos. Inc., said today it will eliminate about 250 of its 2,800 Chicago-area employees over the next two months.

Kraft is making the reductions, about 8.9 percent of the area work force, as part of a larger plan to cut back after its $13 billion merger with Philip Morris last month, it said.

The food company is pursuing an active plan to increase productivity and conduct business aggressively in 1989, it added.

Employees losing their jobs are eligible for a severance package providing substantial income and benefits such as outplacement, Kraft said. The area hit by the cuts includes Kraft’s headquarters in Glenview, which employs 2,000 people, as well as three other locations in the north Chicago area.

Kraft’s scale-back will not be the first for a Philip Morris subsidiary. General Foods Corp. has shed as many as 2,000 workers since it was acquired by the New York tobacco concern four years ago.