Trailer Maker Wabash Cutting 500 Jobs

March 20, 2001 8:30 AM, EST

Wabash (WNC) made the announcement as it warned that its first-quarter earnings would fall below the range of Wall Street analysts’ expectations, which it believes to be three to 10 cents a share.

First Call/Thomson Financial had said the consensus of analysts reporting their views on Wabash had been for the company to post a profit of seven cents a share, Reuters reported.

The Lafayette, Ind.-based maker of Freuhauf and Wabash truck trailers and RoadRailer bimodal vehicles had already said its quarterly results would include costs from a restructing.

It was already exiting its export business to confine its production to the North American market, pulling out of exports and international leasing/financing activities, and consolidating some domestic operations.

But on top of those costs, Chief Executive Officer Jerry Ehrlich added that the “continued weak freight demand affecting the purchasing activities of the trucking industry” was also weighing on company earnings.

Click here for the full press release.)

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