By Jacob Bunge
DuPont Co. plans to cut bonus payments and delay raises for this
year, said a person familiar with the matter, as the chemical
company grapples with slower-than-expected growth and an activist
investor's push to split the company.
DuPont Chief Executive and Chairman Ellen Kullman told staff
this week in a memo that the company would scale back bonuses tied
to 2014 performance and postpone this year's raises until July, the
person said. Bloomberg News reported on the memo earlier
Thursday.
DuPont moved to trim pay after the maker of Pioneer seeds and
Kevlar fiber this week reported full-year profits of $4.01 a share
for 2014, at the low end of the anticipated range DuPont laid out
in June after saying 2014 profits wouldn't meet its original
expectations.
DuPont warned this week that the strengthening U.S. dollar and
weakness in its seed division would further pressure profits this
year, as it projected 2015 earnings below analysts'
projections.
This month Trian Fund Management LP filed a slate of director
candidates for election to DuPont's board, deepening an 18-month
debate between the activist fund and DuPont's management over the
company's future.
The Nelson Peltz-led firm has argued that DuPont's corporate
structure is overly expensive and unwieldy, saddling its business
units with excess costs and corporate red tape. Trian has called
for DuPont to split itself into one company focused on agriculture
and nutrition, and another focused on industrial materials.
Write to Jacob Bunge at jacob.bunge@wsj.com
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