German telecom giant to eliminate 30,000 jobs
( 2002-10-03 10:06 ) (8 )

Deutsche Telekom, Germany's largest telecommunication company, announced on Wednesday that it will slash some 30,000 jobs in order to cut costs and boost earnings.

The reductions are to be carried out through the year 2005 at the fixed-network unit T-Com and account for nearly one fifth of Deutsche Telekom's workforce (170,000).

Some 7,200 jobs are to be cut before the end of this year, followed by 14,000 in 2003 and then another 8,300 in the following two years through 2005, the company said.

It said the job reductions are part of the company's efforts to increase efficiency, improve earnings and reduce debts.

Deutsche Telekom has accumulated debts of more than 60 billion Euros (58 billion US dollars) due to acquisition activities and high license fees for the use of UMST, or the third-generation mobile telecommunication technology. Its stocks have fallen more than 90 percent since their peak two years ago.

In mid-July, the company's chief, Rom Sommer, resigned under the pressure of the German federal government, which is the largest shareholder of Deutsche Telekom.