GE cutting thousands of European jobs after Alstom deal
PARIS - General Electric Co. (GE) is cutting up to 6,500 jobs in Europe after buying a big chunk of France's Alstom, raising questions about GE's pledges to create rather than destroy jobs.
The French government had been concerned that the $17 billion Alstom takeover deal in 2014 would cause layoffs. To ease those concerns, GE pledged to create 1,000 net jobs in France.
Spokesman Laurent Wormser said Wednesday that GE would stick to that pledge. The current cuts include 765 positions in France, primarily administrative jobs in the Paris region, and will be replaced with jobs in other sectors of the company's France operations, he said.
The company currently employs 14,000 people in France.
The purchase was part of GE's focus on building and servicing industrial equipment.