more jobs gone
Duracell battery plant in N.C. to be shut down
April 9, 2005
Gillette Co. disclosed it will close its Duracell battery factory in Lexington, N.C., costing 280 employees their jobs and resulting in about a 4-cent-a-share charge for 2005. The plant largely makes high-power lithium batteries, but declining sales of film-based cameras and the increasingly popularity of digital cameras powered by alkaline or rechargeable batteries has eaten into sales, the company said in a securities filing. Gillette said the closure will result in cash-related costs of $29 million, plus additional noncash asset-impairment related costs.