3,500 more Alcatel workers face Madame Guillotine

TEN MONTHS ago, financial pundits trumpeted the cutting of up to 9,000 jobs at the merged Alcatel-Lucent company. Today, the company announced the head-cutting will extend to 12,500 people.

The French firm - which became the world's biggest maker of telecommunications equipment after its $13.4 billion purchase of Lucent last year - posted a loss in its fourth quarter, triggering head-cutting professional Patricia Russo - who, according to Forbes, came to fame by reducing Lucent's work force by half - to start increasing the cutting speed of her guillotine.

Bloomberg blames Alcacent's woes on increased competition from China's Huawei Technologies Co. and Sweden's Ericsson AB.

Peter Cappelli, director of Wharton's Centre for Human Resources, said two years ago, "It's difficult for (the financial community) to factor in the associated costs of lay-offs, declining morale, and the chaos" that comes from restructuring.

He added: "The investment community focuses on costs. They generally always like the idea that you can cut workers," but they can't measure those other costs. "They don't factor them in, and that's one reason why mergers rarely work out."

The unions are not happy with "Pat" Russo, and have called for a strike next Thursday to protest the lay-offs.

Two years ago, Forbes magazine listed head-cutter Patricia Russo among the Top 15 most powerful women in the world. Mind you, Carly Fiorina was in there somewhere too. µ

L'INQs
Alcatel deepens job cuts to 12,500
Russo, Lucent's Cost-Cutter, to Trim Jobs at Alcatel
Pat Russo's "weakness"
Benefits of big mergers rarely materialize
The Human Side of Mergers: Those Laid Off and Those Left Aboard
The Alcacent Chainsaw Massacre