Dial to Merge Plants, Take Pretax Charge

Dial Corp., which put itself up for sale earlier this month, will consolidate two liquid-soap plants in the U.S., merge some operations in Argentina and take a $9.8-million third-quarter pretax charge for the moves.

Work at a liquid-soap plant in Compton will be moved to a Dial facility in Hazleton, Pa., the consumer-products company said. The Compton plant has 70 workers, and Dial said it will try to transfer them to another facility in Los Angeles. No details about the Argentina consolidation were given.

The plant consolidations will generate pretax savings of $6 million a year, the company said. Dial already plans to record a $200-million tax write-off in the third quarter for the sale of its personal-care division.

Shares of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Dial fell 28 cents to $16.60 on the NYSE.