February 23, 2000

25,000 Jobs to Be Cut As Unilever Trims Costs Unilever, the world's leading maker of consumer goods, is cutting costs by eliminating 25,000 jobs over five years, closing 100 factories and possibly jettisoning up to 75 percent of its products. PAGE C1 Judge Sides With Homeless A state court ruled that the Giuliani administration could not bar single adults from shelters for failing to meet work requirements and other welfare eligibility rules. PAGE B1

Richard D Zanuck and his wife, Lili Fini Zanuck, new co-producers of 72d anual Academy Awards, comment on plans for this year's show; they are aware that Oscar show, while still very successful, has suffered audience erosion in last few years; producers, mindful of past disasters, are aiming for simplicity; photos of some memorable moments in past Oscar shows (L)

Jewish Museum San Francisco unveils design by Berlin-based architect Daniel Libeskind--his first project in United States--to be built in Yerba Buena cultural district downtown; museum is scheduled to reopen in renovated power station in 2002; drawing (M)

Rush-hour work-shift change by New York City taxi drivers, in effect since early 1980's, makes cabs almost impossible to find on streets of Manhattan at evening rush's start; increasingly noticeable and roundly reviled practice is result of industry policy adopted in 1979, when large fleets began leasing cabs to drivers instead of hiring them as employees and paying them on commission, and divided two 12-hour work shifts so there would be roughly equal number of drivers wanting to fill day and night shifts; start of work later in morning by day drivers would be too late for night drivers to reap benefits of busiest time of their shift when people leave work, resulting in fewer drivers willing to work at night; photos (M)

New York Mets left fielder Rickey Henderson reports to New York Mets spring-training camp in Port St Lucie, Fla; photo (M)