Alcatel to Hire 1,500 New People in Asia Pacific in 2001
15 Percent Staffing Increase Needed to Meet Strong Market Demand for Alcatel
Products
Paris, 4 December 2000 - To meet strong demand from customers for its leading-edge Internet
networking, data and communications solutions in Asia Pacific, Alcatel plans to hire 1,500 new
employees in the region in 2001. This represents an increase of 15 percent of its total workforce
in the region in 2001 alone. Alcatel's Asia Pacific operations currently include nearly 10,000
employees.
These new employees will be professionals with valuable experience in their respective fields,
who will be able to immediately start contributing to Alcatel and meeting the company's high
standards for technological excellence and customer satisfaction.
More than half of the new employees will be channeled to Alcatel's research and development
(R&D) and sales and marketing functions in the region. This continuing emphasis on R&D (Alcatel
re-invested US$2.5 billion in R&D in 1999) will ensure that Alcatel continues to be a leader in
providing turnkey communications solutions which can be tailored to meet its customers' individual
needs.
To better meet the specific needs of customers in the different markets in the region, 80 percent
of the new employees will be hired locally, so that they are familiar with the business and
regulatory environments in their home markets.
Ron Spithill, President, Alcatel Asia Pacific said, "We believe that people, technologies and R&D
play a vital role in our continued success. In Asia Pacific, high-quality professionals are
undoubtedly the strong driving force behind our current and rapid growth in this burgeoning
market."
"Alcatel is glad that there is an abundance of such high-quality professionals in Asia Pacific. We
admire the entrepreneurial spirit and high educational levels of the people in this region, and we
are sure that our new colleagues will be instrumental in helping us to reinforce our market
leadership position in the region."
"This aggressive recruitment also demonstrates our confidence that Alcatel will continue to
experience exponential growth in Asia Pacific in the coming years, spurred by the high economic
growth and liberalizing telecom markets in the region," added Spithill.
China will add the highest number of new employees, in line with the high growth in orders for
Alcatel solutions in that country. The highest number of new employees will be dedicated to
developing broadband Internet access, data and mobile Internet, which are expected to be major
growth engines in the future as explosive growth of Internet use in Asia Pacific is expected to
stimulate m-commerce transactions.
New employees in sales and marketing positions will work with Alcatel's existing Key Account
Management people to ensure that Alcatel customers get only the highest level of service.
Aggressive recruitment driven by strong demand for Alcatel products in the region
This recruitment increase will enable Alcatel to meet escalating demand from customers for its
products in Asia Pacific, further strengthening its position as market leader in providing Internet
and communications solutions in the region.
Rick McAndrew, Vice-President of Human Resources, Alcatel Asia Pacific said, "Asia Pacific is
widely acknowledged as one of the most important future telecommunications industry growth
markets. Local focus in operations, particularly in sales and R&D, is important to the growth of a
leading global market player like Alcatel.
"All new employees will also have the full range of career options open to them -something
uniquely enjoyed by all Alcatel employees. This includes the opportunity to work across the
company's various business divisions and multinational presence in more than 130 countries."
Alcatel's Asia Pacific operations were established in Shanghai in January 2000, and span 16
markets including Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos,
Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar, Brunei, Australia and New Zealand.
About Alcatel
Alcatel builds next generation networks, delivering integrated end-to-end voice and data
networking solutions to established and new carriers, as well as enterprises and consumers
worldwide. With 120,000 employees and sales of EURO 23 billion in 1999, Alcatel operates in
more than 130 countries.
For Alcatel press conference presentation slides and photos in ITU Telecom Asia 2000, please
visit: http//www.alcatel.com.hk/asiatelecom
Contact press@www.alcatel.com |
