Saturday, February 24, 2007

Alcatel-Lucent to Eliminate Another 1,700 Jobs in Europe

Alcatel-Lucent SA told staff representatives Friday it will eliminate over 1,700 European jobs in addition to cuts already announced in France, a union official said.

The telecom equipment maker plans to cut a total of 12,500 jobs over three years -- or about 16 percent of the global work force -- as it seeks euro1.7 billion (US$2.2 billion) annual savings from the acquisition of New Jersey-based Lucent Technologies by France's Alcatel, completed last November.

Alcatel-Lucent executives told staff representatives they plan to shed 877 jobs in Germany, 310 in Spain, 250-280 in Italy, 140-180 in the Netherlands and 140 in Belgium, said Patrick Moreau, an official with France's left-wing CGT labor union.

The company last week announced the elimination of 1,468 positions in France by the end of 2008. Earlier this month, Alcatel-Lucent posted a euro618 million (US$803 million) loss in the fourth quarter amid tougher-than-expected market conditions, particularly in North America, and merger-related uncertainty among customers.

AP

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