Euronews: Telefonica to Cut 6,500 Jobs

Telefónica SA (NYSE: TEF), Lebara B.V. , Telekom Austria AG (NYSE: TKA; Vienna: TKA), Orange (NYSE: FTE) and IPtronics A/S form an orderly line in today's queue of European news.

Telefónica has brokered a deal with the Spanish unions for a headcount reduction of 6,500 employees, Bloomberg reports. The move is part of the Spanish giant's plan, announced in April, to cut its domestic workforce of about 35,000 people by around 20 percent. (See Euronews: April 14.)

Mobile virtual network operator Lebara B.V., better known as Lebara Mobile, has hired The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to help it look for a buyer, Telecompaper reports. Netherlands-based Lebara, which is active in seven European countries and Australia, reported 2010 revenues of €564.6 million (US$805 million). (See Lebara Reports Record Revenues .)

Danish optical integrated circuit specialist IPtronics has raised $6 million from existing investors to further develop products for the parallel optical interconnect market. (See IPtronics Samples 12x10G.)

Telekom Austria is getting in on the region's machine-to-machine (M2M) action by launching a new subsidiary, TA Group M2M GmbH, that will begin operations on Sept. 1, according to Wirtschaftsblatt (in Austrian). It's been a busy week in Europe's M2M sector, as Telia Company has just brokered a deal to help take its telematics services further afield. (See M2M Cranks Up a Notch.)

France Telecom faces some challenges in Tunisia, Egypt and other markets in Africa and the Middle East, the Financial Times reports. — Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading