IP: Lucent May Cut Up to 20,000 More Jobs

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Lucent May Cut Up to 20,000 More Jobs
>
> By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
>
>
>
> Filed at 9:04 a.m. ET
>
> NEW YORK (AP) -- Lucent Technologies Inc. (news/quote) plans to cut
> another 15,000 to 20,000 jobs from its payroll and is eliminating
> its dividend in a bid to return to profitability.
>
> The announcement Tuesday came as the embattled telecommunications
> maker posted a fiscal third-quarter loss of $3.25 billion, far
> wider than expectations.
>
> Separately, Lucent said it had reached an agreement to sell its
> fiber-optics operations to Furukawa Electric Co. and Corning Inc.
> (news/quote) for a total of $2.75 billion, part of two separate
> deals it announced Tuesday.
>
> Lucent also said it was eliminating its dividend beginning Sept. 1,
> in a move the company said would free up $68 million per quarter.
>
> Lucent has already cut its work force by 19,000 jobs since January,
> and has also eliminated 5,500 contractor positions. The additional
> cuts will mean Lucent has trimmed its work force, which numbered
> 123,000 at the beginning of the year, by 32 percent.
>
> Lucent will take a $7 billion to $9 billion charge in its fiscal
> fourth quarter to pay for the restructuring, as well as additional
> asset write-downs as the company streamlines its product offerings.
>
> ``I am pleased with the progress we have made on all points of
> Phase I of our restructuring program,'' chief executive and
> chairman Henry Schacht said. ``However, we intend to go deeper with
> a new phase of our restructuring to reshape Lucent for future
> growth and profitability even more quickly.''
>
> For the three months ended June 30, Lucent lost 95 cents per share,
> compared with a net loss of $301 million, or 9 cents share, in the
> year-ago quarter, the Murray Hill, N.J.-based company said Tuesday.
>
> Excluding discontinued operations, Lucent lost $1.89 billion, or
> 55 cents per share. Excluding other one-time items, including a
> $684 million restructuring charge, Lucent lost 35 cents per share.
>
> Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call were expecting a
> loss of 21 cents per share.


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Earns-Lucent.html



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