Alcatel Optronics, the optical components unit of French telecoms equipment maker Alcatel, said today it would slash a quarter of its workforce by the year-end as it struggles with a market downturn.
In another signal that suppliers to the telecoms industry see no sign of a rebound in demand, Optronics (CGO) said it would book a charge of €60 million euros in the second quarter as it cuts its headcount to 1,350 from 1,805 at end-March.
The restructuring, coming on top of around 800 job cuts last year, should pare back the company's fixed costs by around 30 per cent, a spokeswoman said.
Only last month parent Alcatel, which is in the process of shedding 30,000 jobs, said it saw no tangible signs of an end to the two-year-old slump in the telecoms sector, where spending on equipment by cash-strapped carriers has virtually dried up.
In February Alcatel said it would lay off more than half of its 160 staff at its Irish subsidiaries in Shannon and Cork.
A total of 90 jobs at the telecommunications company's operations in Cork and Shannon are to go.
The company is seeking 75 redundancies in Cork where it plans to close its HLR software development facility at Bandon at the end of this year. It also closed its logistics centre in Shannon with the loss of 15 jobs.
AFP