ATLAS ANNOUNCES FURTHER CUTS, ADOPTS ?POISON PILL?

ATLAS ANNOUNCES FURTHER CUTS, ADOPTS æPOISON PILLÆ Atlas Air Inc., the world's largest all-cargo operator behind FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service, said it will reduce its ground-staff work force by 200 employees and take up to six B747 freighters out of service in response to a slowing world economy.
   This year's marked economic slowdown in the United States and abroad has been particularly painful for air-freight carriers, which depend on the now-ailing electronics, telecommunications and computer industries for most of their business.
   Atlas said it has seen a significant drop in global air cargo demand. The carrier, which leases all-cargo planes under long-term agreement to other airlines, will take a one-time charge of $40 million to $50 million in the second quarter to cover severance, account reserves and other non-recurring costs.
   Richard Shuyler, Atlas chief executive officer, expects the company to break even in the second quarter and to post earnings per share of 90 cents to $1.10 per share for the year, roughly half of the $2.31 cents per share Atlas earned in 2000.
   The current staff and fleet reductions come after Atlas laid-off 105 pilots last month.
   Separately, Atlas said it has adopted a shareholders rights plan, known on Wall Street as a 'poison pill' provision, to protect the company from a hostile takeover.
   Atlas said the shareholder plan, which makes it prohibitively expensive for any unwelcome suitor to take control of more than 20 percent of Atlas shares, has not been crafted in response to any “specific effort” to acquire the company. A spokeswoman for Atlas called the plan a “precautionary measure”
   “We believe our stock is undervalued” she said.
   Atlas's stock is off more than 58 percent from a high of $46 per share in September last year. Atlas shares were trading at below $19 per share on Tuesday.