Marconi Chairman, CEO Quit; 2000 Jobs To Be Cut

ByBridgeNews The CEO and chairman of troubled group Marconi Corp. plc resigned Sept. 4, as the telecom equipment firm announced it would cut 2,000 more staff members, according to the UK Press Assn. and a Marconi statement. CEO George Simpson and Chairman Roger Hurn said they were resigning from the board. London-based Marconi said the staff cuts are in addition to the 8,000 already announced this year. "The company is clearly in turmoil, and I have requested an emergency meeting with the directors of the company to clarify the implications for our members and where the job losses will fall," says Danny Carrigan, chairman of Marconi's trade union committee and the AEEU (Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union) national officer. According to newly appointed CEO Mike Parton, "We are focused on matters within our immediate control with a particular attention to cost reduction and cash generation to reduce debt." The staff cuts will see Marconi's job numbers fall to around 29,000 by March 2002 -- a 25% fall from the 39,000 employed in March this year. Parton said 600 of the cuts would be in the UK, 1,000 in the U.S., and the remainder in continental Europe, Central America, and the Asia Pacific.