Black and Decker eliminates 160 jobs

Roger Young, vice president of Investor and Media Relations for the Towson, Md.-based company, said the positions were cut through both forced layoffs and voluntary retirement packages.

The cuts were primarily in the manufacturing sections and are expected to be permanent, Young said. The cuts were the result of the slowing U.S. housing and construction markets, Young said.

?At this point, the housing market has not shown a sign of bottoming out yet,? he said. ?Given what has happened with order rates, I believe people will see the housing market down for most of 2007.?

Black and Decker still employs about 1,125 people at its facilities in Jackson and no further layoffs were planned, said Claude Kelly, director of human resources.