French telecom operator to slash jobs

French telecom operator SFR on Wednesday announced a job-cutting plan of some 850 posts to bolster investment and improve competitiveness, local media reported. Business daily Les Echos said the operator would reduce 10 percent of its total workforce in France "to maintain investments in infrastructure and allow an efficient organization capable of providing customers with a wide range of increasingly competitive and innovative services." Under a voluntary redundancy plan, the operator plans to cut 1,123 jobs which will be partially compensated by the creation of 267 new posts. "The departures will be strictly voluntary. Legitimate volunteers will not leave the company without a viable professional project," SFR said. SFR, which accounts for nearly half of the turnover of France's telecom giant Vivendi, posted a 5.9-percent fall in revenues to 5.76 billion euros (7.43 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2012.