MONTERREY MEXICO

INT17International/Business/EconomyMexico cement giant to lay off 6,000 worldwide, cut costsMonterrey Mexico, Oct 18 IANS Mexico's cement producer Cemex, the world's third largest, has said it will lay off 6,000 of its global workforce by the end of the year and will stop new investment as cost-cutting measures in the face of the economic downturn."During the year 2008 we expect that our global workforce will see a reduction of about 10 percent," Spanish news agency EFE quoted director of planning and finance Hector Medina as saying.The company has a total workforce of some 60,000 workers in the 50 countries where it operates.Medina said that to overcome the challenges of the economic downturn, its affiliates will close down some of their plants to generate savings of about $500 million.Cemex has also declared a moratorium on new investment and will take up only projects scheduled for the early part of next year, he said.The company's net profits dropped by 74 percent in the third quarter, because of the economic slowdown and the expropriation of its plants in Venezuela, among other reasons.Cemex, founded in 1906, has an annual sales turnover of some $15 billion. --Indo-Asian News Servicedkg/jg206 Words18101130