■ Telecoms
Alcatel-Lucent to cut jobs
Newly merged telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent, which employs some 79,000 people, plans to cut 12,500 jobs around the world over three years, the company said yesterday in its 2006 results. The job cuts are intended to save some 1.7 billion euros (US$2.2 billion) over that time, Alcatel-Lucent said.
■ Imaging
Kodak cuts more jobs
Eastman Kodak Co is cutting 3,000 more jobs this year as the picture-taking pioneer wraps up its wrenching transformation into a digital-imaging company focused on consumer photography and commercial printing. By year-end, its work force will slip below 30,000, less than half what it was just three years ago. On top of 27,000 layoffs already targeted, Kodak said on Thursday it is reducing its payroll even further to accommodate the US$2.35 billion sale in January of its health-imaging unit and its costly foray this week into a high-margin inkjet-printer market dominated by Hewlett-Packard Co.
■ Automobiles
Hybrid recall ordered
Honda Motor Co plans to recall 45,335 Civic Hybrid sedans worldwide to repair an electrical defect that could stop the cars' engines, a company spokeswoman said yesterday. The automaker plans to recall 7,219 of the vehicles sold domestically and another 38,116 sold overseas, mostly in the US, after it learned about the defective voltage converters -- which could cause a short circuit that would stop the engine and prevent it from restarting -- from overseas reports. Honda has received no reports of accidents related to the defect, the documents said. The affected vehicles were manufactured between September 2005 and September last year, they said.
■ Cellphones
Nokia sells more in China
Nokia saw sales soar in China last year as the world's largest maker of mobile phones started tapping the nation's huge rural market, state media said yesterday. The Finnish telecoms giant saw China sales jump 39 percent to 5.3 billion euros (US$6.9 billion) last year as it moved 51 million mobile phones, up 57 percent, the China Daily said, citing Nokia figures. As big cities are approaching saturation point, gains have been mainly due to a push by Nokia into the rural market, where many people are buying handsets for the first time, the newspaper said. Cellular operators China Mobile and China Unicom have stepped up expansion in rural areas, helping to boost in Nokia's sales, it said.
■ Aviation
United wins Beijing route
United Airlines won final approval on Thursday for a new nonstop flight from Washington to Beijing, prevailing over three other carriers vying for a single opening to the fast-growing Chinese market. The US Department of Transportation (DOT) confirmed its decision after tentatively awarding the rights to United on Jan. 9. "Today's action finalizes DOT's tentative decision to award the seven weekly frequencies to United, whose bid the department determined would serve the most customers and provide the best service to the traveling public,"the agency said in a statement. Service would begin as early as March 25 between Washington Dulles International Airport and Beijing's China Peking Capital Airport, the first nonstop service between the two capitals.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source