French telecoms equipment giant Alcatel said today it will cut 20,000 jobs as lower second-half sales loom.
The company said it was no longer expecting steady sales in the second half, forecasting a decline of 10 per cent from the first-half as spending on equipment by cash-strapped telecoms carriers remains very low.
Whether today's cuts will affect Alcatel's Irish operations will not be known for some weeks, a spokesman for Alcatel Ireland said today.
Alcatel Ireland currently employs 85 people between its network services centre in Bandon, Co Cork, and its sales and marketing operation in Dublin.
Alcatel, which said it aimed to cut its headcount to 60,000 employees by the end of 2003, said the fresh restructuring would mean a charge of €500 million over the next three quarters.
It hopes the cuts will help it return to profit next year.
The company, which had 110,000 employees at the end of 2000, has already announced plans to reduce that figure by 30,000 by early 2003. At the end of June, total staff had been cut to 83,000, the company said.