Chemicals company DSM is to cut its workforce by 5%, or around 1,000 jobs, the Heerlen based firm said on Monday. And DSM also lowered its earnings forecast for the second time this year.

The company expects the job cuts will lead to annual savings of €100m from 2010.
‘It is clear that the turmoil which began in the financial sector is seriously eroding business and consumer confidence in the wider economy. Although our Life Sciences businesses are continuing to perform well, most of our Materials Sciences businesses have increasingly been affected by the economic downturn,’ CEO Feike Sijbesma said in a statement.
DSM has been hit particularly hard by falling demand for the high-value products it supplies to the car, electronics and building materials industries, news agency ANP said.
The company now expects full year operating profit before extraordinary items to total €900m, down from an earlier forecast of €1bn.

For the full DSM statement, click here