WASHINGTON, Dec 8: The Dow Chemical Company announced on Monday it would cut about 5,000 full-time jobs, close 20 facilities and divest non-strategic businesses in an aggressive move to cope with dire economic times.

The diversified chemical giant also will suspend operations in 180 plants and significantly reduce its contractor workforce worldwide by 6,000 as it joins other American companies in axing staff amid a deepening recession.

“Today’s restructuring is designed to support the Dow of tomorrow,” said Dow chairman and chief executive Andrew Liveris.

“However, we are accelerating the implementation of these measures as the current world economy has deteriorated sharply, and we must adjust ourselves to the severity of this downturn,” he said in a statement.

The full-time job cuts represent a reduction of about 11 per cent of Dow’s global workforce.

Once fully implemented, the new actions are expected to result in $700 million in annual operating cost savings by 2010 and add to previously announced cost synergies of $800 million in the same timeframe, Liveris said.

The Midland, Michigan-based company, he said, was moving from a highly centralised approach to operating three business models with “a lean and efficient” corporate centre.

Details on these business structures will be outlined early next year, he said.

Dow chalks up massive annual sales of more than $50 billion with 46,000 employees worldwide.

The job cuts came as the US economic picture darkened further on news last week of a massive loss of 533,000 jobs in November, raising fears that the recession gripping the global economy will be worse than anticipated.

The November job cuts were the highest monthly decline in 34 years and much higher than the 325,000 forecast, taking the unemployment rate to a 15-year high of 6.7 per cent.

Separately, the US industrial conglomerate 3M said on Monday it was cutting nearly 1,800 jobs in the fourth quarter as it struggles with the global financial crisis.

The cuts have been “mainly in the developed economies of the US, Western Europe and Japan,” the St. Paul, Minnesota-based company said in a statement.

The job cuts were expected to generate $170 million in savings, it said.

“During these difficult economic times, we will continue to aggressively manage our costs,” chairman, president and chief executive George Buckley said in the statement.

The widely diversified manufacturer said it was reorganising 10 production and administrative sites worldwide.

“We are prepared to implement additional restructuring as economic conditions dictate,” Buckley said.

The company lowered its full-year 2008 profit guidance to $5.10 to $5.15 per share, from $5.40 to $5.48, citing slower sales and negative currency effects.