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Local Tech Wire
RALEIGH, N.C. – Telephone and communications equipment maker (NYSE: ALU) laid off “around 40” workers at its Raleigh operation on Thursday.
The cuts represent some 12 percent of the company’s work force in Raleigh.
Alcatel-Lucent also employs 30 people in Cary and 29 people in Morrisville at a subsidiary called Genesys, according to the company.
Statewide, Alcatel-Lucent employed 650 people.
The layoffs are part of the “strategic transformation” Alcatel-Lucent announced in December, said spokesperson Denise Panyik-Dale. She confirmed the layoffs to Local Tech Wire and WRAL.com.
The job cuts took place in the carrier products operation, which is located on Sugar Bush Road in Raleigh, Panyik-Dale said.
“This is a reflection of what we are trying to do to reduce expenses and get to break-even and profitability,” she explained. “Unfortunately, some of the changes we are making as part of our strategic transformation includes headcount reduction.”
Alcatel and Lucent merged in 2006.
Company shares have surged this week as rumors circulated that a Chinese telecommunications firm might be interested in a merger.
Alcatel-Lucent has maintained a headcount of 325 in the past two years, according to the Triangle Business Journal Book of Lists.
