Philips to shed 4,500 employees

PHILIPS Electronics is to cut 4,500 jobs as part of the restructuring scheme to boost profit and meet its financial targets.

That is about 3.7% of its non-TV workforce of just over 120,000, which had already been reduced by a 2009 programme to cut 6,000 jobs.

“The global TV market has deteriorated, and obviously the sooner we complete this the better, but we first need to finalise the negotiations, and whether we can do that this year or into the first quarter of 2012, there are some uncertainties with that planning,” said chief executive Frans van Houten.