CNA to Cut Jobs, Close Facilities to Trim Costs

CNA Financial Corp., the third-largest U.S. property and casualty insurer, said it plans to cut about 2,200 jobs from its work force of 22,000, hoping to boost earnings by reducing annual costs by $300 million to $350 million. Chicago-based CNA said it plans to close several facilities and consolidate some processing locations, taking a third-quarter restructuring charge of $175 million to $260 million. The insurer said it expects to begin seeing savings by the latter part of this year, and the full effect of the actions will be felt within 18 months. The company said last month that it was planning to cut 1,100 workers. It wasn’t immediately clear whether those cuts were included in the reduction announced Wednesday. The company also said second-quarter profit from operations fell to $64 million, or 33 cents a share, from $126 million, or 67 cents, in the year-ago period. That missed the forecast of 58 cents from analysts in a First Call Corp. survey. CNA shares rose 63 cents to close at $38.38 on the New York Stock Exchange.