Cable & Wireless To Cut Jobs, Leave U.S.

The London-based company announced its restructuring plans while reporting annual losses of 6.53 billion pounds ($10.6 billion), which it blamed on a "turbulent year" marked by problems at its Internet and data services division. Cable & Wireless is reeling after having invested heavily at the height of the technology boom.

The company has already cut 1,000 U.S. jobs since November, when it announced plans to eliminate 3,500 positions in the United States and continental Europe. It currently employs 2,800 people at American sites, including a data center in Reston, Va., and its U.S. headquarters in San Francisco.

Company spokesman Peter Eustace said all remaining U.S. jobs might disappear now that Cable & Wireless has decided to exit the American market.

Cable & Wireless has a global workforce of 21,000. It said it would cut an additional 1,500 jobs in Britain, where it employs 5,500 people. British union officials fear the planned restructuring could lead to closures of entire facilities.

Cable & Wireless' financial condition worsened sharply from the previous year. Sales fell by 24 percent to 4.39 billion pounds ($7.16 billion) for the 12 months ending March 31, while losses swelled by 33 percent.

The company said it aims to return to profitability within three years.

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