ChevronTexaco Begins Cutting Jobs

SAN FRANCISCOChevronTexaco Corp. has begun to lay off 7 percent of its work force, or about 4,000 employees, as the oil giant eliminates overlapping operations in two businesses brought together in a $39 billion merger completed last month. The job cuts, described in the company's quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are in line with estimates provided more than a year ago when San Francisco-based Chevron announced its plans to take over Texaco. ChevronTexaco is pruning its payroll of 57,000 employees as part of an effort to reduce the combined company's overhead by $1.2 billion annually, according to the report. Most of the layoffs will be completed by the end of next year, the company said in the SEC document. The company said it would provide additional details about the charges and other future expenses before the end of the year. Through Oct. 31, the company had spent $230 million on merger-related expenses, according to its SEC filing.