Vivendi Universal SA is weighing deep cutbacks of its corporate staff in both Paris and New York as the conglomerate moves to right itself amid a cash crunch. Vivendi Universal notified its
corporate staff last week that Constantin Group, a consultant hired by the company, had recommended the elimination of 100 jobs at Vivendi's headquarters in Paris, where it has about 370 corporate
employees, and about 130 jobs at the New York office, where it has a staff of 200. The recommendations come after a review of corporate efficiency that was launched this spring, not by new Vivendi
Chairman
Jean-Rene Fourtou, but by his predecessor,
Jean-Marie Messier. Messier's aggressive plan to transform Vivendi from a French water company into a global media titan ran aground
against a mountain of debt. Vivendi hasn't yet decided how closely it will follow the advice of the consultants.
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