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LONDON (Reuters)—British platinum refiner Johnson Matthey said it was considering closing its final salary pension scheme in response to a £173 million ($282 million) shortfall in its fund.
The company said it would make additional cash contributions of £23.1 million ($37.7 million) a year over the next 10 years from April 1, 2010, to make up the deficit, but it also planned to switch workers to a lower-cost, career-average defined benefit plan to limit future liabilities.
Johnson Matthey joins a growing list of companies closing or curtailing final-salary pension plans as investments and contributions fail to keep up with liabilities. Barclays, BP and Smiths Group have announced the planned closure of plans in recent months.
The firm said it was consulting workers on a switch to a career-average plan, which has been in operation for new employees since April 2006.
About 1,900 workers would be affected by the change out of a U.K. workforce of about 3,000, a spokesman said.
Its fund recorded a deficit of £173 million on April 1, 2009, compared with a surplus of £26 million ($42.4 million) on April 1, 2006.
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