| jgrove24@hotmail.com 2007-02-13, 10:33 pm |
| PARIS, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Around 1,500 of the 12,500 jobs French-
American telecoms equipment group Alcatel-Lucent (ALU.PA: Quote,
Profile, Research) plans to shed will be in France, trade unions said
on Tuesday.
"The management of Alcatel-Lucent has just informed the works council
that it wants to bring Alcatel staff down to 11,000 in France. There
are currently 12,500 staff. This is therefore a 1,500 cut that is
scheduled in France," Alcatel unions said in a joint statement e-
mailed to Reuters.
Alcatel-Lucent said last Friday it would cut 12,500 jobs or 16 percent
of staff as a result of its complex transatlantic merger, as it
predicted tough times ahead with another dip in sales in the first
quarter.
In an interview with Les Echos newspaper on Monday, Alcatel-Lucent
Chief Executive Patricia Russo said it was too early to specify the
job cuts country by country.
Workers at Alcatel-Lucent have called for a strike on Feb. 15 to
protest against the job cuts which were previously expected to amount
to 9,000, or 11 percent of staff.
The job cuts come as the campaign for France's presidential and
parliamentary elections heats up.
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