­Alcatel-Lucent is planning to cut nearly 5,500 jobs worldwide as part of a previously announced cost cutting programme, a French labour union has revealed.

The redundancy plans includes 1,430 job cuts in France, at the high end of the range expected by the union, according to Isabelle Guillemot, of the CFDT union.

"We are in shock," she said. The union added in a statement that the move represented a "human and industrial catastrophe".

The company had previously announced plans to cut 5,000 jobs as part of a plan to reduce costs by US$1.6 billion by the end of next year, as well as selling off unprofitable divisions.

"These are difficult decisions but are necessary for the long-term health and sustainable profitability of the company," a spokesman for the group said on Thursday.

The company has around 76,000 employees worldwide.

Overall, the company plans to make 3,000 job cuts in the EMEA region, with 990 in Asia-Pacific and 1,200 in the Americas. The cuts are mainly in sales and marketing roles, with R&D ringfenced.