Marconi chief agrees to meet union leaders

NEWS Marconi CEO Lord Simpson of Dunkeld has agreed to meet with trade union leaders before he completes his rescue plan for the beleaguered company in September. Details of the plan were originally only meant to be released to senior members of the management of the telecoms equipment maker. However, Lord Simpson has agreed to meet with union officials on 14 September, after three union chiefs yesterday called for employee involvement at a meeting with the company. Marconi chiefs assured delegates that the action plan would not involve further redundancies on top of the 4,000 it announced last week. Shares in Marconi slipped to an all-time low yesterday and the company almost certainly faces de-listing from the FTSE 100 index when the next review takes place next month.