Brunswick to Close Bowling Centers, Cut Jobs

Brunswick Corp. said it will close 15 retail bowling centers overseas and cut 750 jobs, or about 3% of its work force, as falling currencies in Asia and elsewhere make rivals’ products more competitive. The maker of bowling balls, boats, bicycles and camping equipment also said its board authorized the buyback of as many as 7 million shares, or 7% of its shares outstanding. It will take a third-quarter charge of $40 million, or 40 cents a share. Brunswick expects to complete the moves by year-end, resulting in pretax 1999 savings of $18 million. The Lake Forest, Ill.-based company also will close a Chinese plant that makes bowling-pin setters and reduce its domestic distribution warehouses from 22 to 15 to counter the increased competition for sales of bicycles and camping equipment. Most of the job cuts will be made outside the U.S. Brunswick’s stock, down 61% since April, rose 19 cents to close at $13.19 on the New York Stock Exchange.