News of the Week Lymphocytes have a limited lifetime in the blood, so the treatment would have to be repeated periodically and is not a cure. However, if successful, it could open the door to gene treatment for other diseases. Foreign genes were also transferred into humans in tests completed earlier this year by Steven A. Rosenberg of NCI, Blaese, and Anderson, but that procedure was not designed to be therapeutic. Anderson, Blaese, and Culver contend that the gene therapy procedure is safe. The retroviral vectors being used do not pose a public health risk, even in the event of accidental exposure, and "there is virtually no danger of exposure of germline cells . . . or risks to offspring. Therefore, no special precautions need to be taken," they say. Stu Borman
Two companies offer early retirement In what might be signs of a chemical industry slowdown, two large chemical firms have revived the use of early retirement incentives in an effort to reduce their work forces. Pharmaceuticals manufacturer Schering-Plough has announced a program for which 900 people, or 6% of its domestic work force, are eligible. Hoechst Celanese is offering incentives to 220 salaried employees at its polyester textile fibers operations in Spartansburg, S.C.; its polyester film operation in Greer, S.C.; and its polybenzimidazole fiber operations in Charlotte, N.C., with the goal of reducing employment by 117. The Labor Department's seasonally adjusted data show that chemical industry employment, essentially flat over the past six months, declined by 1000 in June to 1,106,000. Industry capacity utilization has remained essentially flat this year at about 82%, following previous highs in the 1988-89 period of 86.8%, according to t h e Federal Reserve Board. Housing construction, a major chemical industry customer, is now considered in recession, according to Department of Commerce figures, as housing starts have dropped 6
July 23, 1990 C&EN
to an annual rate of 1.18 million in June, following four months of consecutive declines. Until recently, chemists and chemical engineers appeared largely unaffected by the industry slowdown of the past six months. In a March survey by the American Chemical Society of its members, of 39,000 respondents, only 1.1% of chemists were without a job and were looking for work (C&EN, July 9, page 37). But recently the society's Committee on Professional Relations has been pursuing what a staff member says is a flood of 12 unconfirmed multiple termination reports. Only six mass terminations were confirmed last year. According to a Schering-Plough spokesman, the early retirement program is available to all employees including chemists. He says the goal of streamlining personnel is secondary to satisfying employees' request for such a program. He says the company plans to hire new employees during the remainder of the year, but he declines to indicate how many new employees might be hired.
Employees with at least 10 years of service who are 55 years of age or older must respond by Aug. 10 to participate. Robert P. Luciano, chairman and chief executive officer of Schering-Plough, says the program will have no material impact on earnings and adds that the company continues to project that 1990 earnings will increase 18 to 20% per share. Whereas Schering-Plough's offer is not obviously forced on the company by deteriorating business conditions, Hoechst Celanese's offer is predicated on deteriorating textile industry conditions. Industry shipments of man-made fibers have declined this year compared with last year. Polyester fiber producers Du Pont and Wellman have recently cut their fiber p r i c i n g . Hoechst Celanese has not yet cut its prices, but a spokesman says it needs to effect employee reductions to run more efficiently. Salaried employees 50 years or older with at least five years of service must notify the company they will participate by Sept. 16. Marc Reisch
ICI consolidates specialties operations Five years ago, British chemicals giant ICI reorganized its commodity and polymers business into one cohesive unit. Encouraged by results from that move, the company has just done the same with its various specialty interests. The new unit will be called ICI Specialties and will bring together a staff of 12,000 around the world, 3000 of whom are in the U.S. Yearly sales are about $2.7 billion. ICI's new operations are as diverse as colors and fine chemicals, surfactants and other specialties that have been part of the commodities and polymers group, resins, and biological products, which include the company's DNA profiling technology and biodegradable plastics. "We think these businesses will flower under entrepreneurial management," says Ronnie C. Hampel, ICI executive director responsible for specialties. Rodney Brown, who will head the new group, adds that the new focus will accelerate growth
and enable the company to put more research and technical work into the product areas. He says it will also cut down on overlapping areas—for example, in surfactants. The company expects to see 45% of sales in Western Europe, 30% in the U.S., 11% in the Asia/Pacific region, and 14% elsewhere. Commenting on the fragmented nature of the industry, Hampel says, "We will be one of the top three or four specialty c h e m i c a l c o m p a n i e s in t h e world," but will have "only about 1.5 to 2% of the world market." Hampel says new jobs will be created by the restructuring—news that likely comes as a relief to ICI's labor negotiators, who have just had a 9.8% pay offer rejected by the company's 24,000 workers. The U.K. inflation rate has hit 9.8% through June. The unions had asked for a 14% raise; their officials must now take a vote among members about a strike or other industrial action. Patricia Layman
