The speculation still continues to swirl around Hutchison Whampoa Ltd’s Hutchison Telecom unit, and according to Reuter, quoting local reports, the company has shut down the Hong Kong office of its telecommunications arm and laid off about 40 of its 45-strong staff; Hutchison Whampoa declined to comment on the report, saying a statement would be issued in due course but Reuter says that efforts to reach staff at Hutchison Telecom were met with the response that they no longer worked there Rick Siemens, managing director of Telecom, appeared to be still working, but was unavailable for immediate comment; and the company does plan to wind up its overseas telecommunications operations despite official denials and a vow to support theUK operation by chairman Li Ka-shing, a source close to the firm said; the source also confirmed newspaper reports that 40 employees at Hutchison Telecommunications headquarters were fired on Monday; the source also cast doubt on Li’s statement on the British operation, which said it is our firm intention to continue to support this investment; – that statement looks strange in the light of recent developments, the source suggested.
