Management carries on “confidently” through the wilderness!
This extraordinary meeting was devoted to the second round of 4,000 job cuts that follows the first round of 12,500 job losses. The members of the European Works Council opened by protesting against the insufficient information provided by management despite two court rulings in 2002 and 2007, “ …this bears witness to the offhand approach to the group’s staff and therefore of its skills and knowhow. EWC members are increasingly getting the feeling that the group is drifting aimlessly and this further discredits central management.” Management estimate that worldwide headcount reductions totalled 6,700 in 2007 and should be around 6,600 in 2008. In 2008 2,639 European jobs will be lost in, the brunt of which will be borne by Germany (-754) and France (-1051).
Management reaffirmed their belief in the group’s strengths in 4G mobile technologies and their intention to achieve growth in the Applications, Services and Enterprise markets. But they have not yet indicated how this is going to happen. For example Alcatel Lucent is not planning to pick up on Siemens’ Enterprise activities, all they have done so far is strengthen the sales force. At constant exchange rates 2008’s sales figures are expected to show very slight growth with an operating profit of 2 to 5%. However the weakness of the dollar is beginning to take its toll, and management appear to be underplaying the US recession by talking about a “risk” when the crisis is well underway. Despite the flight of investors and the shattering of employee confidence by an accumulation of streamlining programmes management continues to plough its lonely furrow.
Renegotiation of the European Works Council agreement.
This year the European Commission (three years later than planned) has started work on a revised directive on European Works Councils. And yet negotiations with management came to a standstill over the most sensitive subject, Ecid’s right to information and consultation. Management is dead against the introduction of obligations beyond those that already exist at the national level, whereas this is the key point of the renegotiation as far as Ecid’s members are concerned. Management also wants to reduce the budget, which has gone unchanged since 1996. Other less controversial issues were debated, and management may submit a first summary document at next June’s meeting.
ECID info: http://aww.alcatel.com/ecid
