DuPont to cut 3,500 jobs worldwide

Lycra-maker DuPont is to cut 3,500 jobs across the world as part of a major cost-cutting drive, it announced today.

Most of the jobs – which account for about six per cent of the firm’s workforce – will be lost in North America and Western Europe.

The redundancies will not include the company’s textiles subsidiary Invista, which produces products such as Lycra and stain-resistant carpet fibre Stainmaster, and has a base in Derry in Northern Ireland.

The US chemicals giant makes materials used in clothing, health care, construction and electronics.

A spokesman said 70% of the cuts would be made in North America, with the majority of the balance in Western Europe.

DuPont, which operates in more than 70 countries across the world, made the cuts as part of a cost-cutting plan announced in December.

DuPont, based in Wilmington, Delaware, has annual revenues of around $27bn (€22bn).