Articles
General Electric is to axe up to 6,500 jobs in Europe just months after acquiring the power business of Alstom.
The proposed cuts include 1,700 jobs in Germany, 1,200 in Switzerland, 765 in France and 570 in the UK.
General Electric (GE), said: "We have proposed a restructuring project in Europe related to the Alstom integration that could impact up to approximately 6,500 jobs over the next two years.
“This is a necessary step to increase the competitiveness of the former Alstom businesses and generate the synergies we have targeted. We will work constructively with employee representatives throughout the process."
GE acquired Alstom’s thermal power generation businesses, apart from gas turbines, and its power grid and renewables businesses in November last year. The £10 billion deal was cleared by the European Commission in September, with several conditions, including the sale of Alstom’s gas turbine business to engineering firm Ansaldo of Italy to ensure competitiveness in the power generation sector.
At the time Patrick Kron, chief executive of Alstom said the GE deal as a “win-win which protects the interests of employees and customers.”
The combined GE-Alstom business employs around 50,000 people in Europe. GE would not comment on which parts of the GE business would be affected.
Meanwhile GE also announced this week it is to move its global headquarters from Fairfield in Connecticut to Boston, Massachusetts. The company said the move was to take advantage of Boston’s “eco-system and technically fluent workforce”, but industry insiders point to a recent tax side in Connecticut.