Alcatel-Lucent plans to slash 5,490 posts to trim costs

French telecom operator Alcatel-Lucent planned to slash thousands of jobs as part of a plan to improve its financial assets and boost competitiveness, local media reported Thursday. Citing trade union sources, the local broadcaster Europe1 said the French company in the telecom industry would cut 5,490 jobs all over the world with 3,300 in Europe. A number of 1,430 workers were expected to lose their work in France. The reduction of the operator's staff aimed at regaining markets' confidence and to reduce costs which stood at 1.25 billion euros (1.64 billion U.S. dollars), it added. In a context of wane growth and persistent debt crisis in the eurozone, Alcatel-Lucent's jobs cut would further add more pressure on the socialist government to create more wealth and trim unemployment which hit 10.2 percent in the second quarter of 2012, equaling the high level last seen in 1999. (1 euro = 1.31 U.S. dollar)