Telecommunications behemoth France Telecom will cut some 14,500 jobs worldwide this year, largely through early retirement, the company said this afternoon.
The heavily indebted company, which is controlled by the French state, will eliminate 8,800 positions of the total in France, said a company spokesman who declined to be identified.
The French cuts are to come as part of a broader plan announced in 2002 to reduce some 22,000 jobs in the country over three years.