The sagging American economy claimed more victims as photo firm Eastman Kodak and retailer Sears Robuck unveiled almost 9,000 job cuts.

Kodak is to slash 4,000 jobs to cope with falling demand for film and cameras.

Retailer Sears will shed 4,900 staff, amounting to 22% of its workforce, as part of a three-year plan to improve profitability.

Photo firm Kodak posted a sharp drop in profits for the July to September period and warned profits for the final three months of the year will fall well short of Wall Street analysts' expectations.

No let up for Kodak

"All the signs suggest the [economic] weakness will continue into next year," said Kodak chairman and chief executive Daniel Carp.

Like Japanese rival Fuji, Kodak has already warned that the attacks on the United States could hit its profits.

The attacks have hurt the travel and tourism industry.

Kodak is also suffering from a poor performance in its health imaging unit.

Profits sag

Sales for the three months from July to September period fell 8% to $3.31bn, down from $3.59bn in the same period of last year.

Kodak's net profit slumped to $96m from $418m year-earlier.

It expects to make at most 15 cents a share in the fourth quarter of 2001, nowhere near the 46 pence a share analysts had pencilled in.

Sears to restructure

Sears' job cuts will hit 1,300 headquarters' staff as well as 3,600 at its stores.

The headcount reduction is part of a review by chief executive Alan Lacy, who has been in the job for a year, and is expected to save $600m by 2004 and lift profits by $400m over the same three-year period.

Sears reported third quarter earnings of $262m, little changed from the same three months of last year.