Philips to cut 279 in France

The company employed 1700 people at their two French plants in Dreux in 2003. After announcing the new cut backs the company will only employ 218 people in Dreux. On April 8 Philips has scheduled a meeting at their French headquarters, followed the next day by a meeting in their facility in Eure-et-Loir. The management has no made comments about the decision, Lefigaro reports. Personnel in Dreux fear that the production will be outsourced to low-wage countries in Eastern Europe. Additional to that, Philips has already transferred the final assembly to the EMS-provider Jabil.