WILMINGTON, DE. - - As a result of the depressed world agriculture industry, DuPont announced that it will restructure its Crop Protection business, cutting some 800 jobs or about 15 percent of the workers making insecticides and herbicides. This addresses intensely competitive market conditions and positions the business for future growth. Crop Protection is one of the DuPont businesses that alternates in the rotation on the rear decklid of Jeff Gordon's car for each race. Crop Protection has been featured on the decklid in the Goody's 500 in Martinsville, Virginia, the California 500 in Fontana, California, The Winston in Concord, North Carolina, and the Pocono 500 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

The restructuring announcement comes less than a month after DuPont said it would curtail polyester production, laying off 14 percent of the workers - about 800 - in its dacron, polyester films, and polyester resins and intermediates businesses worldwide.

The business intends to consolidate its manufacturing capacity and refocus its research and development programs and marketing activities, resulting in the elimination of approximately 800 jobs. Affected positions and locations have not yet been determined. Estimated annual pre-tax savings of approximately $200 million are expected to begin accruing in the fourth quarter of 1999.

"We're taking these actions to keep DuPont ahead of the incredibly fast-paced and ever changing global agricultural marketplace," said Chairman and CEO Charles O. Holliday, Jr. "These difficult but necessary actions will enable the crop protection business to provide an even stronger base in support of the other parts of our agricultural enterprise, specifically Nutrition & Health and the impending merger with Pioneer Hi-Bred International."

"We must maintain a competitive cost structure in our crop protection business while focusing our resources on the successful introduction of three new products and achieving synergies with Pioneer," Holliday said. DuPont Crop Protection employs 5,500 people in 40 countries. It sells herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides to the corn and soybean, cereals, and specialties markets.

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