France’s Alstom to cut 4,000 jobs in power sector

France’s Alstom to cut 4,000 jobs

PARIS — French engineering giant Alstom SA said Monday it is planning to cut about 4,000 jobs in its power sector over the next 18 months.

The cuts are expected to come “in Europe and North America, where the new equipment markets for coal and gas power plants are most affected by the economic crisis.”

The main sites will be in Switzerland, Germany and the United States, the company said. Other sites affected will be in Britain, Hungary, Norway and France.

The company said that more than 1,000 cuts would come from not renewing temporary contracts and not replacing employees who leave.

Alstom’s renewable energies activities will not be affected.

The company has about 93,000 employees worldwide, 49,000 of them in the power sector.

Sales in the company’s power sector in the quarter that ended June 30 were down 6 percent from the year-earlier period. At the time Alstom said it “still faces challenges to register large orders as customers continue to delay their investments in new power plants.”