Texaco Planning to Cut More Jobs

Texaco Inc., the third-largest U.S. oil company, said it is cutting 2,500 jobs, 79% more than it estimated last year. Most of the cuts will be completed by the end of next month, Texaco said in a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company took a second-quarter charge of $67 million, largely for severance costs. Texaco had about 24,600 employees at the end of last year. In December, the company said it would cut 1,400 jobs amid a period of falling oil prices that began in October 1997. Last month, Texaco said it expects the cost-cutting to save more than $620 million before taxes this year, 38% more than originally forecast. Shares of White Plains, N.Y.-based Texaco rose $1.56 to close at $66 on the NYSE.