Bankrupt  US telecoms giant WorldCom has announced the appointment of Mr Gregory Rayburn as the company's chief restructuring officer.

Mr John Dubel has been appointed as the embattled firm's new chief financial officer. Both executives were formerly executives with AlixPartners, one of the country's top corporate restructuring companies.

The appointments, which are subject to bankruptcy court approval, "are an important step in moving WorldCom forward", company president and chief executive officer Mr John Sidgmore said in a statement.

Mr Rayburn and Mr Dubel will be in charge of WorldCom's restructuring, including negotiating with existing creditors, evaluating proposals, overseeing development of financial projections and overseeing the sale of any non-core assets.

In late June, WorldCom revealed that it had an unprecedented $3.85 billion (€3.9 billion) of accounting discrepancies that wiped out its 2001 profits. The company then filed for Chapter 11 under US bankruptcy law, allowing it to keep operating as it reorganises its finances.

WorldCom's failure was the largest bankruptcy in US history, beating a previous record set by the spectacular collapse of energy trader Enron last December.

- (Reuters)