Nortel Networks Company

Dashing hopes that the worst is over for the beleaguered telecommunications equipment sector, Nortel Networks Corp. said Friday that it will slash an additional 10,000 jobs and post a second-quarter loss of $19.2 billion, one of the biggest in corporate history. The job cuts follow the 20,000 announced earlier this year at the world's largest maker of phone equipment. All told, Nortel plans to shed close to one-third of its work force in a drastic attempt to make up for plunging sales.

Nortel Networks Corp., whose shares have fallen 77% in the last year, said Monday that it will let workers swap their stock options to make it easier to profit in the event the shares rise. Nortel, the No. 1 maker of telecommunications equipment, said in a regulatory filing that at least 50% of employee options are "under water"--meaning the exercise price is higher than the recent share price. The Brampton, Canada-based company will let employees trade in options granted after Nov.

Comarco Inc., an Irvine provider of advanced-technology tools and engineering services, said Monday it has been awarded a $6.6-million contract by Nortel Networks Corp. to support network-upgrade services in certain markets across the United States. Comarco said in a press release that under the contract, it will provide both project management and the tools necessary to perform network-assessment services, as well as network performance verification and optimization.

Nortel Networks Corp. confirmed analysts' worst fears Tuesday as the world's No. 1 supplier of telecommunications equipment further slashed its first-quarter estimates and said it would cut 5,000 more jobs amid an ongoing downturn in the U.S. economy and pricing pressure from competitors. In its second recent cut to estimates, Nortel said it now expects a loss from operations of 10 cents to 12 cents a share on revenue of $6.1 billion to $6.2 billion.

Nortel Networks Corp. Chief Executive John Roth reaped about $88 million in gains last year by exercising stock options, according to a regulatory filing. Roth exercised options to buy more than 1.5 million shares of the biggest maker of fiber-optic equipment, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Nortel Networks Corp., the world's No. 1 supplier of fiber-optic network equipment, said its chief technology officer had resigned and been replaced by a senior executive with the company. Nortel said that Bill Hawe resigned Feb. 12 "to seek other opportunities." The company appointed Jules Meunier to the job Monday. Nortel shares fell $1.13 to close at $18.87 on the NYSE.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange is probing a surge in trading of Nortel Networks options Thursday, before the biggest maker of fiber-optic equipment forecast a first-quarter loss. Trading in a so-called put option that gives investors the right to sell Nortel shares for $30 each through mid-March, for example, skyrocketed Thursday about an hour before Nortel released its earnings guidance.

A barrage of bad news from Nortel Networks and fiber-optics maker Corning ignited a steep sell-off Friday on Wall Street that hammered stock prices throughout the telecommunications and equipment sectors. After months of standing by earlier forecasts, Canadian telecommunications equipment maker Nortel stunned investors Thursday by slashing its 2001 profit forecast by two-thirds and unveiling a plan to cut 10,000 jobs this year. "We now expect the U.S.

Nortel Networks Corp., the top supplier of fiber-optic network equipment, said it will cut 4,000 jobs over the next six months as part of a plan to freeze staffing at 2000 levels and focus on its high-growth businesses. Nortel, which had a staff of about 86,000 in 2000, said the job cuts in poorly performing parts of the company will be balanced by hiring in such high-growth areas as fiber optics and wireless network technology.