AUTOS
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Daimler-Benz Reports Huge Losses: Germany’s biggest industrial company announced a $579-million, first-half loss as it prepared to become the first German company to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Daimler executives promised to eliminate 40,000 jobs--20% of the auto maker’s staff--by the end of 1994 to cut costs. The European auto industry is in its worst slump since World War II. German auto makers’ sales have fallen 18% this year, the result of recession and growing competition from Japanese models. Daimler’s announcement marked the first time a German company had ever disclosed financial results calculated under Securities and Exchange Commission accounting guidelines.
