Cable & Wireless will cut about 65 per cent of its staff in Europe - about 800 people - in an attempt to stem losses, according to an internal memo.
The memo obtained by Dow Jones Newswires was apparently sent to C&W staff in Germany by Mr Ottmar Schipper, vice-president for Germany and Austria. It states that the German operations "will keep nearly 50 per cent of the overall work force. This is much more than the European average of 35 per cent".
The move is the first indication of how the company's plan to turn around its troubled C&W Global unit will affect its operations in continental Europe.
The C&W Global unit had aims of becoming a global telecom carrier based around Internet-type data, but it has swallowed €9 billion in the deteriorating telecom market and is still consuming cash.
In November, Cable & Wireless Chief Executive Mr Graham Wallace said he would cut 3,500 jobs worldwide.
PA
