Lear Corp. targets jobs, plants (7,700 job cuts)

[UpInArms]

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B25BF489E%2DDE7D%2D4503%2DBF3A%2D1EB696F90490%7D&siteid=mktw

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Lear Corp. may lay off as many as 7,700 workers, or up to 7% of its employees, and shut plants around the world as part of a plan unveiled Monday to turn around the auto interiors specialist.

Lear (LEA: news, chart, profile) shares fell 2.1% to $35.62 with more than 1.1 million shares changing hands. Lear stock is down 40% this year as the U.S. auto industry grapples with increasing pressure on its share of the market.

The Southfield, Mich.-based company said the restructuring will cost as much as $250 million, but the details haven't been set.

"Lear's announcement today mirrors the actions of companies across the U.S. auto-supply base, which is still highly dependent on GM and Ford, and is another ominous sign for other publicly traded suppliers without strong organic growth," Merrill Lynch auto analyst John Casesa wrote in a Monday note.

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[Tux]

1. Dang

Higher unemployment for MI. Seems like the American automotive industry is in it's last throes.

[MichiganVote]

2. America slowly hemorraging jobs

[VegasWolf]

3. Slowly? nt

[MichiganVote]

4. Slowly as in some areas of the country are gainfully employed