Nortel cutting another 3,200 jobs

Nortel Networks, currently restructuring in court-ordered creditor protection, said Wednesday it is cutting an additional 3,200 jobs around the world.

The telecommunications company said the cuts are on top of 1,800 remaining staff reductions that were announced earlier and are yet to be completed.

Nortel said the cuts will be made over the next several months.

"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," said Mike Zafirovski, Nortel's president and CEO.

"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," he said in a release.

The company also said it will not pay any bonuses for 2008 under its incentive plan. Nortel is also seeking court approval to terminate its stock compensation plan, including all outstanding stock options. The company said no further equity will be awarded this year.

Nortel has been in creditor protection since Jan. 14. It made the move one day before it was due to make a $107-million US interest payment on its debt. At the time it filed for protection, the company said it had about $2.3 billion in cash on hand, while owed about $4.5 billion in long-term debt.

Nortel said Wednesday it is working on a restructuring plan to get out of creditor protection as a more competitive company.