Navistar looks at ‘couple hundred’ layoffs

Navistar International Corp. officials announced Friday the company would cut “at least a couple hundred” jobs by early next month as part of an ongoing effort to lower costs.

The Lisle-based truck and engine manufacturer will also cut about 140 contractors, officials said.

“This is a continuation of our efforts to achieve cost savings and improve our financial performance,” said Elissa Maurer, a company spokeswoman. “Unfortunately it is not an easy decision. We’ve been doing the right things but we need to do them faster and better.”

Employees were notified of the impending job cuts Tuesday in a companywide memo from CEO Troy Clarke and Chief Operating Officer Jack Allen.

The cuts will take place companywide, though primarily they will affect employees at the company’s North American locations.

That includes Navistar’s international headquarters in Lisle, where roughly 3,000 employees work.

The company employs about 15,000 employees worldwide.

Navistar reported this summer a second quarter 2013 net loss of $374 million, compared to a second quarter 2012 net loss of $172 million.

The impending job cuts next month will come exactly a year after Navistar cut roughly 700 jobs worldwide, including some at the Lisle headquarters. It involved 500 voluntary separations and 200 involuntary separations, officials said at the time.

The 2012 job cuts were expected to save about $70 million to $80 million a year. The company said it wanted to cut expenses as much as $175 million annually starting in fiscal 2013, which began last November.