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A GE
spokesman in France said GE was sticking to its pledge to create
1,000 net jobs in France in the next three years as part of its
acquisition of Alstom's energy business.
He added that the company was looking at job cuts at its
headquarters in Levallois and La Defense, but not at Belfort,
the heart of Alstom's former energy unit.
He said that unions had been informed on Tuesday and that talks
would start on Wednesday. The jobs concerned were mainly in
support functions such as human resources, legal and
communication.
"This is a plan, which could change following discussion with
employee representatives," he said.
He gave no details on which other countries would be hit, but GE
said in a separate statement that it had begun talks with
workers in Switzerland, where 1,300 jobs could be impacted by
the measures.
Those cuts were expected to be in the gas and steam power
businesses, which have experienced a slump in recent years.
GE's takeover of Alstom's energy business - which includes gas
and steam turbines, wind turbines, turbines for hydro dams and
power grids - added about 65,000 employees to GE's workforce of
about 305,000 and significantly expanded GE's reach in the
global market for power generation equipment.
The head of GE's power division said in September the company
would seek to wring out $3 billion in cost savings over five
years from the Alstom acquisition.
(Reporting by Gilbert Reilhac in Strasbourg, Gwenaelle Barzic in
Paris and John Miller in Zurich; Writing by Geert De Clercq;
Editing by James Regan)
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