Rohm & Haas will cut 900 jobs, take $90M in charges

NEW YORK -- The company also said it would freeze employee salaries and discretionary spending this year.

The company, based in Philadelphia, cited the slowing economy and widespread market weakness.

Rohm & Haas did say it expects to beat Wall Street estimates for the quarter, excluding one-time charges.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect profits of 62 cents per share.

Rohm & Haas was supposed to be bought by Dow Chemical, but that deal has been on hold since a Kuwaiti company backed out of a joint venture that would have helped Dow fund the acquisition.

Rohm & Haas said it plans to complete its restructuring this year, leading to pretax savings of about $90 million.