By IANS,
Toronto : Toronto-based telephone equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January, is axing 3,200 positions worldwide.
The world leader in telecom has already announced the axing of 1,800 staff as it tries to climb out of bankruptcy protection granted in the US and Canada two months ago.
Nortel has about 30,000 employees worldwide, including 6,000 in Canada.
Announcing the fresh layoffs through a statement here Wednesday, Nortel president and CEO Mike Zafirovski said: “There is nothing more difficult than notifying employees, and Nortel is extremely conscious of the personal financial burden this will cause affected employees and their families.”
He said: “Nortel is a company driven by people and innovation. But 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.”
He said Nortel’s restructuring plan was aimed at emerging from bankruptcy protection.
“Throughout the process, we are committed to maintaining current high service levels and appropriate innovation investment levels to ensure best in class technology continues to be available to Nortel’s global customer base,” the president said.
The company is also reportedly cancelling the million-dollar monthly lease of two corporate jets.
Nortel had filed for bankruptcy Jan 14, ahead of its $107 million interest payment.
It was granted protection by the Ontario Superior Court here under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.