STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: NPR business news begins with high-tech job cuts.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: The French and American telecommunications manufacturer, Alcatel-Lucent, confirmed this morning it plans to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide. A company statement said 2,100 of those cuts will be from its operations in North and South America.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Now Alcatel-Lucent has been losing money for years. About a quarter of its staff are based in the United States, where the company runs the Nobel Prize-winning Bell Labs research facility.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Today's announcement appears to be part of a restructuring aimed at shifting the company's focus toward high-speed broadband and Internet products. The cuts are planned by the end of 2015.
The French and American telecommunications manufacturer has confirmed it plans to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide. A company statement said 2,100 of those cuts will be from its operations in North and South America. Alcatel-Lucent has about 72,000 employees and has been losing money for years.