Siemens to cut another 7000

Siemens plans to cut another 5000 jobs from its fixed-line division by the end of 2002 and 2000 jobs from its mobile communications group by the end of the current fiscal year. Two thousand of the fixed-line unit’s job cuts will come from sites in Germany.

The moves are part of a reorganization of the vendor’s communications group designed to produce $1.8 billion in savings. About 5500 staffers have already been laid off at Siemens information and communication networks unit (ICN)--the fixed line division--as part of the restructuring announced in June.

“While ICN has weathered the current upheaval in the market and considerable declines in investment by key telecoms and enterprise customers better than most of its competitors, the group will have to adjust to today’s changed conditions and reorganize its activities,” said a statement from Siemens.

Siemens will shutter half of ICN’s production facilities. Highly automated plants in Germany, Brazil and China will not be affected, the company said. Siemens will maintain its current level of R&D expenditures, 80% of which will be dedicated to IP convergence and broadband access technologies.

The company’s mobile networks business hopes to achieve about $363 million in savings through more efficient design-to-cost processes, global sourcing in purchasing, and job cuts.

In the quarter ending June 30, Siemens’ ICN unit recorded a negative EBITDA of $511 million, compared to positive EBITDA of $121 million in the same quarter last year.