By Ian Jones, 9 July 2001 08:32
NEWS Marconi's top investors look set to force chief executive Lord Simpson out of his role following last week's profits warning and subsequent share price plunge. Simpson survived last week's battle with his deputy John Mayo for the top spot, who resigned on Friday night. But according to the Financial Times, some of the firm's main investors have since expressed 'limited confidence' in Simpson's ability to turn Marconi around in the long-term. Lord Weinstock - formerly chief of GEC before it became Marconi under Simpson in 1996 - remains a major shareholder, and is understood to view Simpson as an interim solution to the firm's woes. One top institutional investor reportedly said Simpson should only be viewed as a 'caretaker', and a replacement should be sought immediately. Simpson should only remain in the role for a maximum of nine more months, they added. Simpson is due to retire next July, aged 60, regardless of the current situation. According to several UK Sunday newspapers, Marconi may look for a merger once its financial situation has stabilised. Marconi currently employs 17,000 in the UK and 50,000 worldwide, but confirmed to silicon.com last week that 1,500 UK workers will be made redundant as part of 4,000 cuts worldwide. The job cuts follow 3,000 made by Marconi earlier in the year, and similar culls by US rivals such as Lucent and Nortel. A quarter of the job cuts announced last week will come from "streamlining management".
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