The large rises in employment over recent years relate mainly to the acquisition by Alstom of Cegelec (an electrical engineering business) from Alcatel, which involved the transfer of more than 27,000 staff.
Figures for the first half of the current financial year indicate strong growth in both sales and orders compared with the same period a year earlier.
The majority of employees (63 per cent) are based within the European Union, with a further 11 per cent in the rest of Europe, 12 per cent in the Asia Pacific region, 11 per cent in America and 3 per cent in Africa/the Middle East.
By geographical area, sales break down as follows:
