WorldCom slashes jobs

US telecoms giant WorldCom has said it will cut 3,700 staff, equivalent to about 4% of its global staff.

The lay-offs, the firm said, would "better align its costs with its projected 2002 revenue guidance of mid-single digit growth".

The news came only hours after the firm denied media reports that it was planning to cut 10% of its workforce in an effort to get its finances back on track.

Like most of its peers, WorldCom has suffered in the past couple of years, as debt ballooned and once promising investments turned sour.

Earlier on Wednesday, WorldCom said its total debt was $30bn, against cash of $2.2bn.

Tough times

WorldCom is the second-biggest US long-distance phone company, thanks to its control of MCI.

In February, the firm announced a huge fall in profits but assured investors that it was not in danger of default or collapse.

The company saw its share price halve in the first six weeks of the year, as investors worried about the effects of accounting changes on its balance sheet and became nervous of Enron-style contagion.

Other big US telecoms companies, notably Global Crossing and Qwest, have been hit to varying extents by tougher scrutiny of accounts in the wake of Enron's collapse.