In Brief
OTE to shed more than a third of jobs OTE telecom expects to shed almost 6,000 employees in the coming year from its fixed-line work force, slightly more than a third of the total as it fights to cut costs. «Of a total of 15,925 Greek fixed-line employees at June 30, 2005, a total of at least 5,750… will leave during the next 12 months,» OTE said in a statement. The group said 5,500 would take early retirement, while 250 will leave after reaching normal retirement age, with the total number making up 36 percent of its work force. «The 5,500 figure is spot on our assumption. Our related cost forecast is 1.04 billion euros, which includes the assumption of state aid to (OTE’s) TAPOTE pension fund,» Proton Securities wrote in a note. The operator did not provide details of the cost of its voluntary redundancy plan. It is expected to provide numbers when it reports third-quarter earnings on Nov. 29. OTE had previously estimated a cost of 1.5 billion euros ($1.75 billion) for 6,000 workers eligible for redundancy. (Reuters) Renault considering parts plant in Bulgaria SOFIA – French carmaker Renault SA is considering producing car parts in Bulgaria, daily newspaper 24 Chasa reported yesterday. Francois Fourmount, general director of Renault, Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Dacia in Romania, said the French carmaker was looking at ways to make parts in Bulgaria to supply factories in neighboring Romania and Turkey. «We have found Bulgaria has a relatively well-developed industry and most importantly, solid experience in metallurgy,» the paper quoted him as saying. Dacia is owned by Renault, which has an alliance with Japan’s Nissan. Earlier this year French aluminium car parts maker Montupet said it would build a plant in Bulgaria for the production of aluminium wheel rims, engine and chassis parts for companies including Renault. Web conference Greece will host the first world conference on Internet governance next year, the World Summit for the Information Society in Tunis decided yesterday, endorsing a proposal by Communications Minister Michalis Liapis who presided at the plenary session. The summit is hosting 60 heads of state and representatives from 150 countries. Competitiveness The competitiveness of the Greek economy rose 1.4 percent in the third quarter, the highest rate in the eurozone, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas said yesterday, citing a variety of sources. In terms of labor costs, the improvement was 0.9 percent. Cars on sale Car rental company Avis in Greece started selling slightly used cars from its fleet. Most of the cars are dated from 2004 and 2005 and cover all types of vehicles in the market. Anyone interested can contact Avis at tel 210.639.7061 or on the Internet on www.avis.gr.
