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Russo ready for action - Layoff most US Lucent empl. as harder to fire French Alcatel workers
Patricia Russo, who eliminated 30,000 jobs at Lucent Technologies Inc., says she will move quickly to reduce the work force when she takes over as head of Alcatel SA after the French companys $13.4 billion purchase of the biggest U.S. phone-equipment maker.We clearly intend to have speed as our bias, Russo said on a conference call after Sundays announcement of the sale to Paris-based Alcatel, where she will become CEO. Russo aims to save $1.7 billion after three years at the enlarged phone equipment company. Russo plans to eliminate 10 percent of the combined staff, or 8,800 jobs. Shes already reduced the work force by 50 percent at Murray Hill, N.J.-based Lucent. The turnaround experience may help her boost earnings at the new company, whose products range from phone gear to networking and broadband devices, executives said. She had great learning from a difficult and complex challenge when she took over Lucent, said Fred Hassan, chairman and CEO of Schering-Plough Corp. Russo sits on the Kenilworth, N.J.-based drugmakers board. Some of those turnaround experiences are greatly helpful when you do a merger. Russo closed factories and offices at Lucent. Pacific Crest Securities analyst Tim Daubenspeck said she may follow the same recipe this time and close plants in the U.S. first. The combined company will be based in Paris, and Russo may have a tougher time shuttering locations there quickly due to stringent labor laws, he said. [..] Posted by: 3dc 2006-04-05 |
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