Textron to Eliminate More Than 3,600 Jobs

Textron Inc. announced plans to cut more than 3,600 jobs, or 5% of its work force, and slashed profit forecasts, citing a rapid decline in auto production and a slowing U.S. economy. Textron, a manufacturing conglomerate that makes golf carts and plastic auto components, Cessna airplanes and Bell helicopters, reported fourth-quarter earnings of $185 million, or $1.12 a share, up 8.8% from a year ago, in line with analyst expectations, as revenue fell 2.9% to $3.3 billion. Chairman Lewis B. Campbell said he expects first-quarter earnings of $1 a share, well below the $1.08 analysts forecast. Campbell also expressed confidence that the troubled $40-billion MV-22 program--the Osprey aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but flies like a plane--would continue. The company said that after taking charges for the layoffs, the write-down of the value of electronic commerce investments and a gain from the sale of some automotive assets, it had a loss of $218 million, or $1.53 a share, in the fourth quarter. Shares of Providence, R.I.-based Textron rose $1.19 to close at $47.13 on the NYSE.