PARIS-Alcatel, the telecommunications equipment company based in Paris, last week announced
plans to cut 12,000 jobs, or about 10 percent of its work force, during the next two years.
Some news reports said
the cuts would be focused in the United States, but Amy Morenz, a spokeswoman for the company, said the job cuts
“are not focused on any particular group, sector or location.”
Morenz said the latest layoffs are part of a
restructuring of the company that has been occurring during the last three years. Alcatel cut 770 jobs in
1998.
“This latest decision is part of an ongoing plan to move into the telecom and data arena,” said
Morenz.
Alcatel last year completed a merger with U.S.-based DSC Communications Corp. and has made several
investments during the last several months in companies it hopes will bolster its push into the converged network arena.
Those acquisitions include Xylan and Assured Access Technologies.
Nevertheless, Alcatel will fail to meet an
operating profit target of 8 percent of revenues, according to an Associated Press story. In order to improve
profitability, the company plans to lay off staff and subcontract business, the AP report said.
Company Chairman
Serge Tchuruk, who attributed the revenue failure to a slowdown in the telecom switching market, said the staff
reductions will save Alcatel $327 million a year, according to AP.
