Environment

Sealed Air, the protective packaging specialist, will reduce its staff numbers by 900 and will close some of its smaller facilities as it positions itself to cope with the worsening economic conditions.

The company said the "cost reduction and productivity program" will be completed by the end of the year.

William Hickey, president and chief executive, said: "As a result of the continuing challenging economic conditions and to position ourselves for 2009, we are aggressively taking steps to manage our business through a combination of pricing actions, improved operating efficiencies and cost improvements."

The program is expected to achieve annual savings of at least £50m.

The announcement came as it reported a 12% increase in net sales for the second quarter of 2008 to $1.3bn (£656.3m).

Its gross profit rose to $330m in the period, compared with $323m in the second quarter of 2007.

The company's operating profit for the second quarter fell to $126m, compared with $134m in the same period in 2007.

Sealed Air's food packaging division recorded a 12% increase in net sales in the second quarter to $519m, reflecting the positive impact of unit volume growth in North America.

Its protective packaging arm saw net sales rise by 9% to £259m in the period, reflecting moderate unit volume growth in North America and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as moderate product price/mix growth in Europe.