engineering - alstom slashes jobs
WORKERS, JUNE 2003 ISSUE
Alstom, the international engineering power generator builder, is to cut 450 jobs at its plants in Knutsford, Rugby and Whetstone.
The job losses come as Britain reaches saturation levels for gas fired power stations. It also reflects Alstom's attempts worldwide to shed 10% of its 118,000 workforce as part of a debt-restructuring and cost cutting exercise.
Alstom has debts of nearly £4 billion. Siemens, the German engineering and electronics company, has expressed an interest in buying parts of Alstom. The job cuts may well be the early signs of the company's fragmentation.