Cable & Wireless aims to cut up to half its staff in five years

LONDON (AP) - Cable & Wireless Group PLC, Britain's second-largest telecommunications company, said Tuesday it aims to shed up to half of its workforce, or up to 3,000 jobs, within five years.

The company said it envisages cutting staff from the current 5,500 to between 2,500 and 3,500 as it concentrates on fewer and larger corporate customers while reducing the complexity in its products and systems.

C&W said this will allow the business to reduce costs and set higher standards for customer service.

The company said it plans to reduce its customer base from about 30,000 customers to about 3,000 large corporate customers and public institutions.

John Pluthero, executive director of Cable & Wireless, said 89 per cent of the company's customers generate four per cent of revenue and around two per cent of its gross margins.

He also said he is confident the company can reach its revenue goal of two billion pounds ($3.5 billion).

C&W has undergone significant restructuring over the past two years after pulling back from a nine-billion-pound ($16.4-billion-US) plan to become a global carrier for large businesses.

Last year, the company acquired Energis, a British fixed-line telecommunications company. C&W said it expects the merger to yield cost savings of more than 40 million pounds ($69.7 million) a year by the end of March 2006.

C&W shares were off 1.2 per cent to 107.25 pence ($1.87) on the London Stock Exchange.