ECONOMY

Cost-Cutting at Union Carbide: Chemical manufacturer Union Carbide Corp. of Danbury, Conn., said it will slash 5,500 jobs to cut costs by $250 million by 1994. The cuts will lead to a fourth-quarter charge of $100 million to $150 million to cover severance and other costs, the company said. The cost-cutting also includes divesting several smaller businesses “not essential to the company’s long-term strategy,” Union Carbide said. The company will also freeze the salaries of senior corporate officers “until . . . substantial progress (has been made) toward our return-on-capital and shareholder-return goals,” Carbide said.