Marconi to cut 3,000 jobs as US slowdown bites

Marconi, the telecoms equipment giant, is to meet union representatives this evening to discuss some 3,000 job losses worldwide, up to half of which are likely to be in its UK operations.

The development is the latest evidence of the impact of the US economic slowdown on British technology firms, coming just three weeks after Cable & Wireless issued a profits warning and revealed it was culling 4,000 jobs.

It is understood that Marconi is in the final stages of formulating a restructuring plan that will see it trim almost 6 per cent of its 55,000-strong global workforce. A detailed announcement is expected tonight (NZT).

It was not clear yesterday whether the plan includes compulsory redundancies. The company declined to comment.

The move marks a sharp reversal in the fortunes of the company. Formerly the defence giant GEC, it has drip fed the market news of further expansion into the telecoms hardware market over the last 12 months. Analysts had forecast Marconi would create 3,000 jobs over the next two years.

While Marconi is not expected to single out any particular operations for closure, the restructuring plan is bad news for the Midlands and North-west of England, where the group manufactures components for fibre-optic voice and internet networks.

While the London-based group has operations in more than 100 other countries, half of its staff are UK-based.

- INDEPENDENT