US Engineering titan General Electric (NYSE:GE) is to cut thousands of jobs in Europe following its deal to buy Alstom's power business for US£9.2bn last November, it emerged.
The US firm is undergoing a restructuring and plans to cut up to 6,500 jobs across Europe in energy units as a result of the acquisition.
Reportedly almost 600 of General Electric's 22,000 jobs in Britain could be axed.
The move is reportedly a bid to get rid of role duplication as a result of the combined businesses and a slowing demand for gas and steam turbines
A spokesman for the US giant was quoted as saying the move was the first of about US$2bn of cost savings General Electric had flagged up already following the French power deal.
It comes after yesterday, oil behemoth BP revealed it was cutting 4,000 jobs - 600 of them in the North Sea, as oil prices continue to collapse.