Nortel jettisons yet more staff

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More Job Cuts At Nortel

Beleaguered Canadian kit vendor Nortel has announced plans to shed a further 3,200 jobs worldwide. These new reductions are incremental to the previously announced 1,800 workforce reductions.

Wednesday’s announcement is the latest in a long line of similar moves from Nortel as it continues to offload assets from the safe haven of bankruptcy protection.

Last week, as the rest of the telecoms world was shaking off the hangover of Mobile World Congress, Nortel struck a deal with kit manufacturer Radware, to offload elements of its application delivery portfolio.

Prior to that, the vendor kicked up a storm by severing its WiMAX partnership with Alvarion, potentially leaving the smaller firm out of pocket.

Mike Zafirovski, Nortel president and chief executive officer, said: “With the unprecedented economic environment and resultant impacts on revenues, significant changes are required to regain our financial footing. Tough decisions are being made to restructure the company and work towards a successful emergence from creditor protection.

“We remain deeply committed to our customers and are staffed to meet their needs as we take the necessary actions to strengthen the company,” he said.

Zafirovski won’t be getting his bonus either. The board of directors has also approved a recommendation to not pay any bonuses under the Nortel Annual Incentive Plan (AIP) for 2008.