France said to clash with STMicroelectronics over strategy

Paris

STMicroelectronics NV and its French state owner are headed for collision over a strategy that includes possible job cuts at Europe's biggest semiconductor maker, according to people familiar with the matter.

Chief executive officer Carlo Bozotti's turnaround plan for the digital unit, which makes chips used in set-top boxes and smartphone sensors, entails cutting hundreds of positions in France and elsewhere out of a workforce of about 2,500, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private deliberations. France and Italy's governments together own 27.5 per cent of Geneva-based STMicro.