SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
______________________
Form 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
December 17, 1997
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(Date of Report)
December 16, 1997
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(Date of earliest event reported)
POLAROID CORPORATION
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
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(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)
1-4085
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(Commission File Number)
04-1734655
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(IRS Employer Identification No.)
549 Technology Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
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(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(617) 386-2000
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(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
<PAGE>
Item 5. Other Events.
On December 16, 1997, Polaroid Corporation issued a press
release which announced a broad-based program to streamline
operations and enhance earnings by consolidating and selling
manufacturing facilities and significantly reducing overhead
structure. A copy of the press release is attached as exhibit 99
and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 7 (c) Exhibits
Exhibit 99.1 Polaroid Press Release dated December 16, 1997
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
POLAROID CORPORATION
By /S/ William J. O'Neill, Jr.
__________________________
Name William J. O'Neill, Jr.
Title: Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
Dated: December 17, 1997
-3-
Exhibit 99.1
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Corporate Public Relations
Polaroid Corporation
549 Technology Square
Cambridge, MA 02139
617 386-2000
617 386-3125 Fax
Media Contact: Investor Contact:
Bob Guenther Phil Ruddick
(781) 386-3112 (781) 386-6638
email: [email protected] [email protected]
For Immediate Release
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POLAROID ANNOUNCES BROAD-BASED INITIATIVE
TO STREAMLINE GLOBAL OPERATIONS
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., -- December 16, 1997 -- Polaroid Corporation
(NYSE: PRD) today announced a broad-based program to streamline
operations and enhance earnings by consolidating and selling
manufacturing facilities and significantly reducing overhead
structure.
The streamlining program will result in a total pre-tax
charge of approximately $310 million in the fourth quarter of
1997 and the elimination of about 1,500 positions on a worldwide
basis, in overhead and manufacturing; the sale of chemical
manufacturing operations in Freetown, Mass.; and write-downs in
plant and equipment.
Of the total charge, about $180 million will be related
to plant and equipment and other assets and $130 million to
severance costs. The program will require about 18 months to
implement fully, and will generate annual savings of
approximately $110 million upon completion.
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<PAGE>
Polaroid to Streamline Global Operations -- 2
Gary T. DiCamillo, chairman and chief executive
officer, said, "These actions, developed over the past six months,
are a critical part of our ongoing transformation of Polaroid into
the global imaging company of the future. When completed, we
expect to have reduced overhead to less than 30 percent of sales.
These reductions will be made without curtailing our product
development, technology and brand-building investments. The new
Polaroid will be lean enough to compete profitably against the
world's best technology companies in traditional and digital
imaging markets and robust enough to seize quickly new
market opportunities.
"As a result of major changes we've made over the last
two years, we are now in a position to alter fundamentally how
we conduct our business around the world," said DiCamillo. "We
will have in place a new structure that enables us to create a
sustainable stream of new products at a faster pace with lower
costs in 1998 and beyond."
Polaroid embarked on a major cost-cutting initiative in
1995 when DiCamillo joined the company. Since then the company
has developed a new growth-focused strategy, streamlined its
product development process and brought in a new management team
that has created market-focused strategic plans across all the
business units. Simultaneously, Polaroid has instituted a
substantial number of new partnerships, alliances and sourcing
agreements in research, product design and development,
manufacturing and information systems. For example, Polaroid has
completed a number of off-shore manufacturing partnerships and is
establishing product design centers outside the United States, as
well as a software development center in India.
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<PAGE>
Polaroid to Streamline Global Operations -- 3
As part of the streamlining program, Polaroid has
agreed to sell its underutilized chemical manufacturing
operations in Freetown, Mass., to International Specialty
Products Inc. (NYSE:ISP) of Wayne, New Jersey, for an undisclosed
amount of cash. Under the terms of the agreement, ISP will
supply the company on a long-term basis with certain specialty
chemicals used to manufacture Polaroid instant photographic film.
Polaroid's decision to sell the Freetown plant reflects the
corporation's ongoing efforts to reduce costs, improve operating
efficiencies, and make more effective use of assets. The
transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to
be finalized in the first quarter of 1998.
The corporation also will take a charge of approximately
$100 million to write down plant and equipment at its New Bedford
coating facility and will be considering strategic options for
the future use of the plant.
Polaroid Corporation, with sales of $2.3 billion, is
the worldwide leader in instant imaging. Polaroid supplies
instant photographic cameras and films; digital imaging hardware,
software and media; medical diagnostic imaging media; secure
identification systems; graphics imaging systems; sunglasses;
polarizers; and holographic films to markets worldwide.
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