May 5--Stamford-based Harman International Industries Inc., a high-end audio equipment maker, expects to reach its goal of reducing its global work force by 2,000 by June 30, the end of its current fiscal year, a spokesman said Monday.

The job cuts are the result of the company's effort to reduce costs through consolidation of facilities and other efficiency efforts, Darrin Shewchuck said.

"In North America, there have been 900 in the last 12 months," he said, noting that several hundred jobs were eliminated when Harman closed a factory in Martinsville, Ind., that manufactured Harman Kardon, JBL and Infinity speakers. "We're also consolidating our consumer products unit."

Harman announced in January that it was closing a consumer division operation in Woodbury, N.Y., by June 30 and consolidating its work with a unit in Northridge, Calif.

"The rest of the numbers will come from Europe and other locations by June 30," Shewchuck said. "We announced in early 2008 an effort to look at overall cost structure and efficiency."

When the economic crisis hit, the company stepped up its plans, Shewchuck said.

Harman, which has about 11,000 employees, on April 29 reported a $64 million net income loss for the third quarter, compared with a loss of $3 million for the third quarter of last year. Net sales for the most recent quarter were $598 million, compared with $1.03 billion for the same quarter last year.

Dinesh Paliwal, chairman and chief

executive officer, attributed much of the reason to the decline of auto manufacturing.

"Due to the unprecedented downturn in the automotive industry, which represents 70 percent of our business, we are continuing with our aggressive actions for sustainable cost reduction and prudent cash management," he said in a statement, referring to the 2,000 job cuts.

Harman will emerge from the downturn as a strong competitor, Paliwal said.

Harman's most recent quarterly report and its shortfall came as no surprise to Jon Schallert, president of The Schallert Group, a business consulting firm with a specialty in retailing.

"I know they were going to take a slam because they had a huge investment in Circuit City. It was a matter of time," he said, adding that Harman has taken a double hit because of its dependence on the auto industry to buy its audio systems. "They make products that are very high-end. You see a lot of consumers who are trading down," Schallert said.

Harman's diversified product line and a $270 million credit facility should help it through the economic downturn, said Doug Fleener, president of Dynamic Experiences Group LLC, a retail and customer experience consulting firm.

"The audio industry rises and falls with the economy -- especially high-end products," he said. "I'd guess they're going to come out of this fine. I think they'll be leaner."

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