Last week saw the finalization of the Alcatel-Lucent merger, and now reports are coming in about the fallout: 9,000 employees will lose their jobs and only certain product lines will continue, in order to meet the goal of €1.4 billion in annual cost savings by 2009. Analysts worry about the repercussions of the staff cuts, since the risk of distracting a salesforce during the integration period could lead to slip ups, and an opportunity for competitors to swoop in. More than half of the expected savings, however, will come from the 10 percent downsizing of the combined company's workforce.
For more on the aftermath of Alcatel-Lucent:
- see this WSJ report (sub. req.)