Alcatel-Lucent won’t say how the planned layoff of another 4,000 staffers will affect Canadian operations of the troubled telecommunications equipment manufacturer.
However, a company spokesman suggested that the impact in Ottawa, where it has a 2,000-strong research and development operation, may not be serious. It also has several hundred more support and sales staff across the country.
Dick Muldoon, director of media relations for North America, noted that CEO Patricia Russo said this week that wants to focus on areas of high growth including IP, IPTV and wireless technologies.
These are areas the Ottawa branch focuses on, he said, “so you can draw your own conclusions.”
“It’s the home of our IP division,” he continued. “They make IP routers, and we’re No. 2 in that space in market share worldwide. It’s a real success story.”
As for IPTV, Muldoon noted that U.S. Alcatel-Lucent customers AT&T and Verizon are rolling out service and have made significant commitments to that technology.
Russo announced the cuts this week after the Paris-based company reported quarterly revenue of