Alcatel to Cut More Than 3,000 Jobs

PARIS, Oct 4 -- Alcatel will cut more than 3,000 jobs in its undersea network cable and optical fiber units by mid-2002.

Citing a downturn of the undersea network market and a slowdown in the optical fiber market, the company said the cutbacks will come mainly in Australia, France, Britain and the United States.

In its undersea cable division, Alcatel said 172 workers at six sites in France will lose their jobs or be offered early retirement or transfers, while another 873 part-time staff won't have their contracts renewed.

Additional cuts in the undersea cable unit will come through the closure of a site in Portland, Ore., announced in May this year, plus cutbacks at its Greenwich site in Britain and suspending work temporarily at its plant in Port Botany, Australia.