J&J plans restructuring, will cut up to 4,800 jobs

Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it would reduce its global work force by up to 4 percent, or up to 4,820 jobs, to cut costs due to a slump in sales of its heart stents and its No. 2 drug, plus coming patent expirations for key drugs.

The health care giant, which employs about 120,500 people in 57 countries, said the restructuring — its largest ever — would bring pretax charges of $550 million to $750 million later this year, as well as other, unspecified steps besides job cuts.

Excluding the charges, the New Brunswick, N.J.-based maker of contraceptives, contact lenses, prescription drugs and baby products still expects to meet its 2007 profit targets.

The company said the moves should generate pretax, annual cost savings of $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion next year and similar amounts after that.

Johnson & Johnson shares rose 43 cents to $60.50 Tuesday, still near their 52-week low of $59.72.

The company is not yet saying which facilities will be affected, but managers began to notify employees about job cuts Wednesday morning. J&J said it plans to use attrition and hiring freezes in some businesses.

•Twenty-nine companies — including Electronic Data Systems Corp., General Dynamics Corp. and AT&T Inc. — on Tuesday were awarded a federal computer systems contract potentially worth up to $50 billion over 10 years.

The General Services Administration, the government’s main buying arm, said the 5-year contract, which has five 1-year options, covers most technology services, such as computer design, software engineering and systems integration.

Some other major winners include: Computer Sciences Corp., Harris Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp., International Business Machines Corp., Unisys Corp., SI International Inc. and BearingPoint Inc.

•Sales of Miller Brewing Co. beers slipped 0.7 percent in the first quarter, again hurt by the industry’s sagging sales of mainstay brews.

As drinkers trade staples such as Miller Genuine Draft for wines, spirits, imports and crafts, the Milwaukee-based brewer is banking on imports from the lineup of its London-based parent company, SABMiller PLC, to bolster profits. SABMiller’s brands include pricier beers such as Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell.

While sales volumes are small, beers such as Peroni Nastro and crafts like Leinenkugel’s are seeing double digit growth, the company said Tuesday.