General Electric will cut 6,500 jobs in Europe

General Electric Co. plans to eliminate 6,500 jobs in Europe in a global restructuring effort as the industrial giant seeks $3 billion in cost savings from its purchase of Alstom’s energy business.

The cuts, including 1,700 positions in Germany and 765 in France, are part of a broader push to trim overlapping expenses following one of GE’s largest-ever acquisitions, which closed in November.

The job cuts represent about 14 percent of the 48,000 people that the company’s power division employs in Europe. GE promised to create 1,000 jobs in France to win government support for the deal.

Separately on Wednesday, GE announced it is moving its headquarters from suburban Connecticut to Boston.

Bloomberg News

This story was originally published January 13, 2016 at 2:22 PM with the headline "General Electric will cut 6,500 jobs in Europe."