Oct. 1--Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation Inc. said Tuesday it will cut 3% of its global work force -- about 600 employees, including an estimated 90 locally -- as the engineering group reduces costs amid a global slowdown.

"Implementation will begin immediately," Rockwell said in a statement after the financial markets had closed.

The restructuring will result in a $50 million pretax charge to fiscal fourth-quarter earnings.

At the same time, the company expects to save an estimated $75 million next year and $85 million in fiscal 2010.

"Rockwell is behaving pre-emptively," said Nicholas Heymann at the Sterne Agee investment firm in New York. "Time will tell if this is enough, but they are thinking ahead."

The estimated job cuts are the first layoffs that were induced by a slowing economy since 2002, a company spokesman said.

Rockwell's business of automating factories, refineries and water-purification plants have made it a bellwether of the global manufacturing sector and the propensity to invest in production facilities.

"There can be no dispute that a recession has occurred in the manufacturing sector," Dan Meckstroth, chief economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, a Washington, D.C., trade group, concluded in his most recent U.S. industrial outlook.

Rockwell already weathered months of turbulent conditions this year and warned investors as early as June that its full-year earnings might fall short of initial estimates.

But conditions worsened in a matter of days, as credit dried up in response to bank failures and uncertainty on Wall Street, Heymann said.

As loans for cars and other consumer goods are tougher to come by, automakers and other manufacturers are less inclined to invest in their production lines, the analyst said.

Rockwell, which is active in 80 nations, omitted any details about where it will cut jobs.

A company spokesman, however, said he anticipates that the more than 3,000 Rockwell employees in the greater Milwaukee area will absorb a proportionate 3% staff reduction, in line with the overall cut. That would mean roughly 90 area jobs are at stake.

As of June 30, Rockwell had about 20,000 total employees.

"Although fourth-quarter revenue is in line with expectations, we believe it is prudent to take steps to address our cost structure while continuing to invest to maintain our competitive differentiation and further strengthen our global presence," Rockwell chief executive and Chairman Keith Nosbusch said in the statement.

It will also consolidate some businesses and streamline administrative costs, the company said.

Before the announcement, Rockwell shares rose with the broader market, gaining $2.35, or 6.7%, to close at $37.34.

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