28/02/2006

Cable & Wireless to axe 3,000 jobs

Telecoms firm Cable & Wireless has announced that it plans to cut up to 3,000 jobs in the UK within the next five years.

The move is part of restructuring plans for the firm's UK business, which aim to reduce its business customer base from around 30,000 customers to 3,000, in order to concentrate on fewer numbers of larger corporate customers.

The job cuts will reduce the company's UK workforce from around 5,500 to between 2,500 and 3,500 over the next four to five years. Around 350 jobs are expected to go before the end of the current financial year at the end of March.

In January, Cable and Wireless announced that it would split its operations into two separate businesses - one international and one in the UK.

The firm also issued a profit warning and announced that Chief Executive Francesco Caio would leave the firm at the end of April.

Furniture group MFI also announced plans to cut up to 1,500 jobs today.

The chain announced that it would close 11 stores and focus on a smaller range of higher-margin kitchen and bedroom furniture. The firm's Sofa Workshop business will also be sold and there are plans to close three delivery centres.

However, MFI said that it was planning to expand its Howden joinery division, which reported a 1% profit increase to £103.6 million last year.

Over 900 jobs are expected to go from the closure of MFI's factories in Stockton and Scunthorpe.

The announcement came as the group revealed a pre-tax loss of £600,000 for the year.

The plans are expected to cost £34 million this year, with associated asset write-offs of £36 million.

(KMcA/GB)


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