OTHER NEWS - Oct. 18, 1994

Roche Holding Will Cut 5,000 Jobs: The big Swiss-owned drug and chemical company said it will make the cuts over the next several months as it absorbs operations of U.S. drug maker Syntex Corp. Roche, inventor of the well-known tranquilizers Librium and Valium, completed its $5.3-billion buyout of Syntex, a pioneer in birth control pills, Aug. 31. The job cuts, amounting to about 8% of the combined work force, will come mostly through attrition and early retirements, but layoffs are also unavoidable, said Roche spokesman Gaston von Glutz. He declined to offer an estimate.