Getronics to cull 1400

The cuts are expected to be completed by June, with the company claiming a potential saving of US$86 million per year. Getronics' operations in Mexico, Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands are expected to be the main targets of the cuts. Getronics laid off 1500 staff from its worldwide operations in 2001.

A spokesperson for Getronics said the company's customers should not be affected by the cuts, as staff numbers will be trimmed to match workload. A tougher than expected second half forced the company to lower its second half expectations, the spokesperson said.

Getronics expects no meaningful recovery until 2004, when equipment bought between 1997 and 1999 comes around for an upgrade.