Telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent SA announced Tuesday that it plans to cut about 10,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years—but it’s unclear whether any of its 40 Minnesota employees will be laid off.

The Paris-based telecom equipment developer reportedly has about 72,000 employees across the globe, which means that its planned cuts represent about 14 percent of its total workforce.
 
The company said that “all geographic areas where Alcatel-Lucent operates will contribute to [the reduction] effort.” Of the 10,000 job cuts, the company said 4,100 will occur in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; 3,800 in the Asia Pacific; and 2,100 in the Americas. By the end of 2015, the company said it will halve the number of its business hubs globally.
 
Reached by email on Tuesday, a company spokesman declined to specify how many cuts will occur in the United States or whether any Minnesota employees would be affected. The employees in Minnesota are mainly technicians, installers, and technical customer support personnel—and nearly all of them work at a facility in Roseville.
 
Alcatel said the cuts are meant to ensure a sustainable financial future for the company and restore its profitability. According to the Associated Press, the company has been struggling since it was conceived from the merger of France’s Alcatel and New Jersey-based Lucent Technologies in 2006. Last year, the company reportedly lost about $1.86 billion.
 
In addition to the job cuts, the company will also cut some of its research and development costs and refocus some of its investments from its older technologies to future technologies.
 
The company said its revenue totaled about $19.5 billion in 2012.