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| Business Words in the News
Friday 08 November 2002
Vocabulary from the business news. Listen to and read the report then find explanations of difficult words below.
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ABB in trouble
Summary: The struggling European engineering group ABB has warned that it will make at the very least ten thousand job cuts. The Swiss - Swedish company has not given a specific figure but it plans to start the reductions in January and finish the exercise in eighteen months. This report from Andrew Walker.
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| | The News | |
| | | ABB's Chief Executive Jurgen Dorman says he wants to cut costs by 800 million dollars. Two thirds of the savings will come from job losses. He confirmed that there will be cuts in what he called the double digit tens of thousands. He could not give a more accurate indication of the numbers, but a figure of ten to twelve thousand seems to be the range he has in mind. The company has been losing money this year - more than 80 million dollars in the first nine months.
Then it was hit by concerns of mounting liabilities to workers affected by asbestos used in the past at the group's American subsidiary, Combustion Engineering. ABB spokesmen have said that the wider group won't be affected by the US asbestos problem. The group is trying to put the US operation into a legal procedure known as chapter 11 bankruptcy, which would give it temporary protection from being sued by creditors. ABB is seeking to focus more on its core businesses, including power generation. It plans to sell off some other activities, including its oil gas and petrochemical operation.
Andrew Walker, BBC
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| | The Words
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| | | cut costs
reduce the amount of money spent on running the company
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| | | savings
reduction in the amount of money needed
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| | | range
here, the maximum and minimum amount
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| | | has in mind
is considering, is thinking of
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| | | concerns of
worries about
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| | | liabilities
money that the company owes
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| | | procedure
a procedure is a way of doing something
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| | | sued
if you sue someone you start a legal case against them to claim money because they have harmed you
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| | | focus
concentrate
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| | | core
central, most important
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