The French telecom company Alcatel plans to cut 900 jobs in North America, blaming poor trading conditions.

The 900 job losses, which make up about 5.6% of the company's US workforce, are in addition to the 1,100 cuts announced in April.

Alcatel said it would close a Portland, Oregon, plant that prepares fiber-optic cables for underwater lines, and would shift some work away from operations in Andover, Massachusetts, and Milpitas, California.

"With business conditions in the United States remaining tough, the need to continue to cut our operating costs remains important," said Mike Quigley, president of Alcatel Americas.

"These efforts will better position us to operate more efficiently today while preparing us for more rapid growth once business conditions improve," he added.

Collapse of Lucent deal

The new comes two days after the company called off intense negotiations to acquire Lucent Technologies of the US.

In a joint statement, the companies said "discussions have not resulted in any agreements and have been terminated".

On the day of the announcement, Alcatel's stock lost 5.2% of its value.

In afternoon trading on Friday, Alcatel's US shares rose 12 cents to $25.39 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Consolidation

The consolidation of its US operations will be completed by the fourth quarter, it said.

Some employees at the Andover and Milpitas sites will be transferred to other locations.

Established in 1898, Alcatel is a major player in providing next generation networks, such as telecoms infrastructure and the backbone for the internet.

It employs 130,000 people, including about 15,900 in the US.

The company operates in 130 countries and reported sales of 31bn euros in 2000.

The US accounted for about 23% of Alcatel's sales last year.