Pat Russo, the embattled chief executive of Alcatel-Lucent, the world’s largest telecoms equipment supplier, is seeking a €6 million (£4.77 million) golden parachute deal amid renewed speculation that she is on the point of being sacked.

The Franco-American group’s shareholders will be asked to approve a resolution this week which would award Mrs Russo the equivalent of two years’ total remuneration.

The move comes with investors set to vote on a second resolution which would facilitate the dismissal of the American chief executive and of Serge Tchuruk, its French chairman.

With about €20 billion wiped off the group’s stock market value since it was formed by the merger of France’s Alcatel and Lucent of the US in 2006, its annual meeting on Friday is certain to be stormy.

Shareholder anger was fuelled when the company reported a first-quarter net loss of €181 million last month and predicted a further drop in sales this year.

The figures added to pressure on Mrs Russo and Mr Tchuruk amid claims that they have been unable to bridge the cultural gulf separating French and American staff.

Mrs Russo plunged deeper into controversy over the proposal for a golden parachute.

“This present is a stain at a time when everyone is talking about making business practices more moral and executive pay more moderate,” said Le Monde.

A spokewoman for Alcatel-Lucent said Mrs Russo, 55, whose salary last year was €1.83 million, could receive severance payments of about €6 million under the deal once bonuses and performance-related pay were taken into account.

But she said directors had pledged to maintain the pay and conditions enjoyed by Mrs Russo at Lucent, including the severance package.

The spokeswoman said the golden parachute had been approved in principle at last year’s annual meeting.

The new resolution was designed to bring the deal into line with French law, which says executives can receive a pay-off only if they meet their objectives.

Mrs Russo would obtain the €6 million if Alcatel-Lucent reaches 90 per cent of its target revenue or 75 per cent of its target operating profit.

Speculation that directors may be set to replace Mrs Russo as chief executive was heightened by the revelation that Alcatel-Lucent was proposing to allow her dismissal, and that of Mr Tchuruk, by a simple majority vote of the board.

Under current company statutes, a two thirds majority is needed.

The change is significant because the 14-member board consists of six former Alcatel directors, an equal number from Lucent, and two independents, including Lady Jay of Ewelme, the wife of the former British ambassador to Paris.

The new voting arrangement would enable the French side to sack Mrs Russo with the backing of the independent directors. Similarly, the American camp could push out Mr Tchuruk.

But Alcatel-Lucent’s spokeswoman said Mrs Russo and Mr Tchuruk had themselves put forward the proposal to bring the group into line with standard business practice.

“Pat Russo has said that if she did not have the support of half of the board she would leave anyway, so in practice this rule does not change anything.

“She is very surprised that there is so much fuss being made about this.”

Times Recommends

• Equitable Life halts £7bn sale on market turmoil
• Potential buyers emerge to save Woolworths staff
• Terrorist attacks close Bombay Stock Exchange