Oct 17 (Reuters) - PPG Industries ( PPG ) will lay off

1,800 employees in the U.S. and Europe and close plants as part

of a cost-reduction program, the paints and coatings maker said

on Thursday.

The program focused on reducing structural costs in Europe

and in certain other global businesses, along with other

corporate expenses following recent agreements to sell two of

its businesses, the company said.

The company, which missed Wall Street estimates for

third-quarter profit on Wednesday, also announced the sale of

its architectural coatings business in the U.S. and Canada to

buyout firm American Industrial Partners for about $550 million.

The sale makes sense as the business represents only 10% of

PPG's consolidated revenue and has lagged most other end-markets

in recent years, Morningstar analyst Spencer Liberman said.

He expects the sale proceeds will help fuel additional share

repurchases.

PPG's architectural coatings business houses brands such as

Dulux, Glidden, Olympic and Liquid Nails. It expects the deal to

close in late 2024 or early 2025.

In August, the company had said it would sell its silica

products business to Polish chemical company Qemetica for $310

million. The sale is expected to close in the last quarter of

2024.

"(Decision to cut jobs) are necessary to adjust our fixed

cost base and to right-size our company following these two

business divestitures," CEO Tim Knavish said in a statement.

Both the deals followed strategic reviews announced earlier

this year.

PPG expects annualized pre-tax savings of about $175

million, including $60 million in 2025, once the cost-cut

program is fully implemented.

The company said it would record a pre-tax charge of $250

million in the fourth quarter.

(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by

Shilpi Majumdar and Sriraj Kalluvila)