Deutsche Telekom to cut 22,000 jobs

Deutsche Telekom is to cut 22,000 jobs by 2004. The bulk of the job losses will be in Germany.

News of the job cuts comes two days ahead of the firm's annual general meeting.

Chairman Ron Sommer is expected to receive a stormy welcome from shareholders.

Deutsche Telekom investors saw their shares hit a record low of €11.76 last week as a stream of negative news continued.

The company unveiled a €1.8bn first quarter loss, far larger than analysts had expected.

Chief financial officer Karl-Gerhard Eick has said the firm is expecting a loss of €5.3bn this year.