IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 5 October
05-10-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
Intel commences staff layoffs | France Telecom appoints new CEO
The Irish Times reports that government targets on wave energy provision will be "missed" unless major changes are made to the offshore licensing and lease system, according to the new national body representing wave and tide energy. A white paper prepared by the Marine Renewables Industry Association (MRIA) says changes to the legislative system would give a fillip to the sector and to Ireland’s commitments on climate change. The association says that if Ireland is not to lose out to competitors, it must bring in a licensing and lease system that allows development of early stage prototype and early commercial demonstration projects.
The Irish Independent says that chip giant Intel has started to tell workers which of them will face the axe under a proposed redundancy scheme. The first of the 294 Intel employees to be made redundant by the company have learned their fate through a series of individual meetings that are set to continue for a number of days. The firm, based in Co Kildare, announced the wave of redundancies in July.
The Financial Times says that France Telecom, which faces a political storm over a spate of employee suicides, has appointed Stephane Richard, a former top aide to France’s economy minister, as deputy chief executive of the telecoms group. Richard will take over from current CEO Didier Lombard. There have been 24 suicides at France Telecom since the beginning of 2008 and 13 attempted suicides, according to labour unions, who blame restructuring and poor working conditions for creating a climate of stress. Last week the head of France Telecom presented the company’s plan to deal with the suicides to Economy Minister Christine Lagarde.
The Wall Street Journal says that a deal to merge General Electric's NBC Universal into a new joint venture with Comcast's cable networks faces a number of financial and legal issues. While both sides hope to complete a deal, people familiar with the matter give the transaction "50-50" odds of coming together. The chief issue for all parties remains valuation. Comcast, for instance, is eager to contribute as little cash as possible, meaning it is seeking a high valuation for its cable networks.
The Sunday Business Post reports that Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and all senior management will attend a major company conference in Killarney in mid-October, according to sources. Google is understood to have chartered aircraft to bring people to the event, which will focus on internal developments at the firm, as well as wider industry issues. It is not clear if the company’s founders will attend.
The paper also says that IT distributor SharpText has undergone extensive restructuring after experiencing a significant drop in turnover. Newly appointed managing director John Dunne said that the company has shifted its strategy after revenues dropped to EUR127 million in the year ending 31 March 2008, down from EUR136 million a year previously. The company also experienced a fall in revenues last year, largely due to the economic slowdown, according to Dunne. SharpText is now moving from being a pure distribution business model to broaden its offering by becoming a solutions provider as well.
The same paper says that telecoms equipment developer Intune Networks expects to release its product to market next year and record its first full year of revenues in 2011, after securing a EUR22 million round of investment funding last week. John Dunne, co-founder and chief marketing officer, said that the funding meant that the company could now proceed with a full commercial launch next year.
The Sunday Times reports that T-Mobile in the UK has said that from 26 October the prices it charges customers for using their phones outside of Europe will more than double. The cost will rise from STG0.55 per minute to STG1.20 per minute. The mobile giant blames the weak pound for the move, explaining that as soon as a user calls from abroad, T-Mobile has to pay the local network operator in the relevant currency. Archna Luthra, from consumer site moneysavingexpert.com, has called the rise "unacceptable".
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 