FT workers walk out to protest planned job cuts

A quarter of France Télécom’s domestic workforce walked out yesterday to protest against planned job cuts at the company. AFX News reports that an estimated 25% of employees were on strike by midday following a union call for a one-day strike to express dissatisfaction at plans to cut 22,000 jobs by 2008. Union officials claim that FT staff are coming under increasing pressure to accept voluntary redundancy packages, although this has been refuted by the telco.