Philips Electronics Sees Huge ’90 Loss, to Trim 10,000 Jobs

Dutch electronics giant NV Philips, hit by a slump in its worldwide business, said today it expects to suffer a huge loss this year and will cut 10,000 jobs as part of a radical restructuring.

The world’s second largest consumer electronics concern, Philips forecast it will report a net loss of $1.075 billion in calendar 1990 compared with a profit last year of $740 million.

The predicted loss stunned share analysts who had been expecting NV Philips Gloeilampenfabrieken to make a small profit this year in line with the company’s earlier forecasts.

Its share price slumped nearly 7% to $16.56 on the Amsterdam bourse in 30 minutes of hectic trading after the announcement.

Jan Timmer, who was formally elected president of Philips today, told an extraordinary meeting of shareholders that the company will drastically restructure its business by making deep cuts in the total work force of 290,000.