France Telecom unveiled plans for a restructuring that would include cutting 17,000 jobs worldwide.
The group said it planned to cut 16,000 jobs in France and 1,000 abroad between 2006 and 2008 - amounting to about 8 to 10 per cent of its staff.
It said the reductions - part of an "adaptation of the cost structure" - would not involve forced redundancies and that the departures were in line with previous efforts to trim the workforce through natural wastage.
The French telecoms operator, weeks after a profit warning triggered by the loss of fixed-line revenues to the Internet, also posted a 2.8 per cent rise in full-year core earnings today, in line with the most recent market estimates.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation - which it also describes as gross operating margin - of €18.42 billion.
The owner of the country's top mobile operator, Orange, proposed a dividend of €1 for 2005 and €1.20 for 2006, beating market expectations of a €1 sum for 2006.