Waste Management to Cut 2,000 Jobs

Waste Management Inc. said it will eliminate 2,000 jobs, including one layer of management, as part of a restructured business plan that aligns its collection, transport, recycling and disposal resources with market areas.

The Houston-based company, which serves municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers throughout North America, expects the plan to create annual savings of about $100 million. The cuts represent about 3.5% of its work force.

Waste Management also expects a pretax charge of about $50 million, or 5 cents a share, for the first quarter but doesn’t plan to change its outlook for all of 2002.

Shares of Waste Management were up 60 cents to $27.63 on the New York Stock Exchange before the news was announced.