Big job cuts at Marconi

TROUBLED telecoms equipment maker Marconi announced 800 job cuts today following its failure last week to win a stake in a key BT contract.

The company said today it was talking to unions about the planned redundancy programme. The company employs 10,000 people worldwide, including 4,300 in the UK, and reductions have been inevitable since it lost out on a proposed £10bn network upgrade contract.

Marconi, the rump of the former GEC industrial giant, said it needed to reorganise its cost structure in order to compete more effectively against rivals.

In a statement to the Stock Exchange this morning, the company said it was in talks with unions to see how the job reduction programme could be accomplished. Marconi said it planned to combine its product units with its regional business structures and create geographic 'centres of excellence'.

'A process of consultation on a proposed reduction in headcount of a total of up to 800 jobs in the UK has been instigated with Trade Union and employee representatives,' a Marconi spokesman said.