German giant may lay off thousands

GERMANY'S struggling economy has been dealt another savage blow with poor results from electronics giant Siemens that could translate into thousands of job losses. The company's share price plunged 4.7% to e46 when it reported third-quarter profits down to e892m (£535m) from e919m in the previous quarter.

Orders are down around 20%, and Siemens warned: 'We expect results to be worse in the next quarter.'

The news was greeted with trepidation among the 442,000 worldwide employees of the conglomerate that makes everything from mobile phones to dishwashers and computers. Siemens is not only a flagship company of the German economy, it is also its most important. The group constitutes the bulk of shares traded in Frankfurt's DAX index and until 11 September had been performing well.

A worldwide drop-off in orders led to today's poor results, said Berlin company analyst Joerg Horny. He added: 'As bad as this is for employees, it is worse for an economy that is still struggling to pull itself together in a fragile recovery.'