Nabisco Holdings Corp., the nation’s biggest maker of cookies and crackers, said Monday it will take a second-quarter charge of about $268 million, or three times estimated earnings, to slash costs by firing about 3,100 workers and closing nine factories.
The maker of Oreo and Ritz snacks will take another $118 million in pretax charges over a year as it pares its work force by 6 percent. Chief Executive James Kilts reportedly will use the $100 million in annual savings to boost ad spending by a third.
Shares of Parsippany-based Nabisco fell 13 percent to a four-month low as the size of the charges surprised investors, who had expected earnings to resume rising later this year. The restructuring is Nabisco’s second in two years aimed at reducing expenses, costing more than $1 billion in pretax charges.
Nabisco shares fell $6.06, to $39.87, in trading of 7.3 million shares, almost 18 times the three-month daily average.
