"We are a company that believe in maintaining a conservativefinancial posture," says James M. Loree, EVP and CFO of StanleyWorks, in a statement. "In light of the extremely poor economicbackdrop, it is prudent to continue to take actions to align ourcost structure with both the current and potentially worseningbusiness environment in 2009."

Initially, Stanley had predicted earnings per share forcontinuing operations before Q4 charges to be $0.35 to $0.45 higherthan where the company now sees its earnings, somewhere between$3.30 to $3.40 per share. The release from Stanley points to the"rapidly deteriorating business conditions" to its Construction/DIYand Industrial segments over the fourth quarter. The fourth quarterunit volumes are currently projected to be from 12% to 14%, whichStanley notes in their release, is roughly 6% to 8% lower thanexpected.

Loree in a statement says, "The decline in unit volume that[Stanley has] observed in the first two months of the fourthquarter, following a 7% decline in the third quarter, has beendramatic. Across nearly all of our businesses, with the exceptionof our Security segment, [Stanley has] seen a sizable negativetrend that continues to track the downward movement of the overalleconomy." He continues to say that the lay-offs and facilityclosings will "position the company for growth" as the economyimproves in the future.