NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Bermuda-domiciled Cooper Industries Ltd., the maker of Halo brand lighting, said it will fire more than 1,000 employees as the credit-market freeze and slowing economies reduce demand for its products.

The company will have $20 million to $22 million in severance expenses in the fourth quarter, Houston-based Cooper said in a statement. The company had more than 31,500 workers in 23 countries last year.

"In the fourth quarter, we anticipate our customers reducing inventory levels and our manufacturing facilities to likewise operate at a lower level of production," chief executive officer Kirk Hachigian said in the statement. US companies have been cutting jobs as they prepare for an economic slowdown, causing September payrolls to drop by 159,000 — the biggest reduction in five years. Chrysler LLC, the third- largest US automaker, said yesterday it will eliminate about 1,825 jobs by shutting a factory ahead of schedule and cutting a shift at an Ohio Jeep plant. Cooper lowered its 2008 earnings forecast to $3.58 to $3.67 a share, excluding a fourth-quarter charge and 11 cent tax benefit, from a July 24 estimate of $3.61 to $3.71.

Third-quarter profit from continuing operations increased ten percent to $189.2 million, or $1.08 a share, from $171.9 million, or 93 cents, a year ago, Cooper said in yesterday's statement. Sales rose 15 percent to $1.73 billion.

Earnings were projected to be 95 cents a share, the average of 12 analysts' estimates in a Bloomberg survey.