General Electric Co. is letting go of 6,500 workers around Europe after purchasing a huge part of the French engineering company Alstom. 600 of this number is said to be from the United Kingdom, 765 in France, and 1,700 in Germany.
"The restructuring plan will touch several European countries and impact potentially 6,500 jobs out of 35,000," a GE spokesman told AFP. The spokesman also, through his statements, confirmed in part a report by the L'Est Republican newspaper stating that up to 10,000 jobs could go worldwide.
On the lighter note, however, is that they will be pledging to create a net 1,000 jobs in France.
According to Boston Herald, the move was part of GE's plans to focus on building and servicing industrial equipment.
The French government has been faced with a 10 percent increase in their unemployment rate. The news from GE brings in more pressure and concern to the government. This $17 billion Alstom takeover deal in 2014 would cause layoffs. This is one of the reasons why GE promised to create 1,000 jobs.
"The French government is accountable ... for the commitment made by General Electric," government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said. They will be closely monitoring GE's fulfilment of their promise.
On the other hand, GE France spokesman Laurent Wormser said that "756 of the 6,500 job losses in Europe will hit its French operations, primarily administrative jobs in the Paris region, but they will be replaced with jobs in other sectors of the French operations, which employ 14,000 people."
A statement released by the company said "recruiting for new jobs will begin this month, and will include posts in a new software center and services center as well as some manufacturing jobs."
The negotiations between Alstom and GE had been long-running since April 2014. However, they had to "embark not only on a charm offensive in France but also secure regulatory approval in Europe."
