DuPont Co. says it will cut 2,500 jobs, mostly serving the U.S. and European automotive and construction markets, due to lower demand linked to the steep global decline in homebuilding, auto sales and consumer spending.

The Wilmington, Del.-Based chemicals maker also says it will trim 4,000 contractors by the end of this year.

But management at Washington Works says the Wood County plant should not be affected dramatically, at least not in terms of its own workforce.

"We do have a large variable workforce at the site," says Washington Works Manager Bill Hopkins. "Normally, we have more than 500 contract workers on site, and we have made some reductions there. We do not see a significant reduction in our normal DuPont workforce."

The variable workforce is a reference to people who work for companies manufacturers like DuPont hire for construction and non-manufacturing-related projects.

DuPont is forecasting a 2008 fourth-quarter loss of 20 cents to 30 cents per share, and for the economic downturn to continue through 2009. It's also a downturn the Washington Works plant has noticed in recent months.

"We did start to see some drop-off back in September," Hopkins notes. "We anticipate continuing to make additional reductions in that workforce. However, we're operating many of our assets on an as-need basis, and we don't see any impact on our normal DuPont workforce."

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters currently predict quarterly profit of 23 cents per share and fiscal 2009 earnings of $2.80, on average.

Dupont has two West Virginia operations, located in Belle, near Charleston, and the Washtington Works plant near Parkersburg.

(Reporter Todd Baucher contributed to this story.)