Philips to axe 4,500 jobs as profits plunge

DUTCH electronics giant Philips remained tight-lipped last night over where its axe will fall after announcing 4,500 jobs losses.

The firm – which employs about 2,200 in the UK, including at its lighting factory at Hamilton – would only say 1,400 of the posts will go in the Netherlands.

Philips, once one of the biggest players in the television market, has 116,000 staff spread across 100 countries and said the cost-savings would “focus on reducing complexity, overheads and support functions”.

In April, new boss Frans van Houten announced that the firm’s TV business would be spun off into a joint venture with Hong-Kong-based monitor maker TPV. But van Houten yesterday warned that the deal was taking longer to close and may not be sealed before the end of this year.

Rabobank analyst Hans Slob warned: “The TV negotiations are taking longer than expected, and there’s no final agreement, which is a clear negative.

“That Philips says the negotiations are ‘intense’ doesn’t sound very good either, and it looks like there is a clear chance they won’t strike a deal.”

Philips yesterday reported a third-quarter net profit of €76 million (£48m), down from €524m a year ago but beating analysts’ forecasts for a €53.8m profit. Sales fell to €5.4 billion, down from €5.5bn year on year, but again ahead of predictions for €5.3bn.

The group’s healthcare and lighting divisions both posted rising sales figures.