Keep Your Chins Up, Nortel Employees

By Mark Evans | Published: October 4, 2008

As Nortel struggles to find its strategic direction, it has no doubt made for compelling and dramatic activity.

There’s lots of questions about the proposed sale of the metro Ethernet network business, Nortel’s crumbling stock price. and what’s going to happen next month during the third-quarter conference calls.

But one thing that also needs to be taken into consideration is there are 30,000 people working for Nortel, raising families, paying bills, etc. There are a lot of hard-working people doing the best they can amid volatile and uncertain conditions.

When you’re unsure about the future of your company, it has to be stressful from a professional and personal perspective. So as much as it’s easy to harpoon management, it’s also important to look into the “trenches” where thousands of Nortel employees are going to work every day, and trying to help Nortel do business.

So, let’s not lose complete focus by being focused on Mike Z. or the stock. There’s a lot more at stake for thousands of Nortel employees than whether MEN will be sold for $1-billion or $2-billion or whether an analyst issues an upgrade or downgrade.

Now, back to our regular programming….

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  • broadbandbill

    Mark,

    Well said. As stated before, they are the real world-classers…–bb

  • Nortel investor

    Ahem……
    Positive attitudes bring positive results, it's said. Buisness is tough for everyone out there right now so nerves will be raw but i think the right things are being done, based on the market conditions, for the company to move forward…
    Keep focused on your business no matter what so people like me have a reason to continue to invest in your company.

  • Nortelhand

    Well said Mark. The people that are really doing the work are doing a good job. I hope they come out OK. We investors will survive another day, hopefully to throw tomatos at Mike Z, but you guys doing the work are what makes it work.

  • yes4aapl

    from the stock perspective and shareholders view
    NT stock fell down from $1200 to $2
    and the company is closer than ever to the CH11
    It's better to use CH11 now when there is still cash and assets.
    Wait longer and Mike will lose everything, selling assets and losing cash.
    I really hope the honest employees /honest only/ will get new jobs in good companies.
    there is only 33k Nortel's employees in danger of losing_changing job. It's not the end of the world.
    What about million families destroyed by NT stock and Nortel's accounting frauds?
    That's the math of big numbers!
    Lad&Gen please keep everything in perspective.
    In last 4 years posting under Apple ID I tired to inform my friends and my family reading my posts around the word about risks involved in Buying Loong NT shares.
    It's up to each and every investors to do own DD.
    Prove me wrong about NT and I will admit my mistakes.
    Just don't try to hype dead stock no matter what.
    Market cap is only $1 bill
    Why all NT employees will not Strong Buy all NT and do with the company whatever they want?
    As long as NT is a public company, Nortel has to follow the rules.
    Disclose info and be available for analysts.
    It wasn't me wrong about lower revenues in 2008. Who was wrong assessing revenues?
    It wasn't me wrong about new job cuts. So who said the opposite?
    I am available for questions under yes4aapl2007@yahoo.com
    Sorry for the lengthy reply to all the bashers who bash NT/s stock Bears., me included.

  • Chris

    Nortel's most important shareholders – or that of any publicly traded company – is the employees. Nortel has some of the most loyal employees. Thanks for the note about employee concerns.

  • broadbandbill

    Chris,

    As a start-up guy I can categorically state that no company can get anywhere without its employees. Cisco knows that, Juniper knows that, Apple knows that, Google knows that but NOT A SINGLE PERSON that came out of GE knows (or will ever know) that including their ‘legendary leader’ Jack (the Knife in Your Back) Welch; one of the most over-rated mangers of our times.

    History will prove me right; no difference between JW and John Scully; both empty suits that killed dreams for thousands with Orwellian lingo and methodologies either by shipping jobs to ‘lower cost geographies’ or lack of vision. Short-term gains co-opting long-term goals. Recent Wall Street debacles started long ago, and under the leadership of guys like Jack. Which brings me to a title of one of my future books: Fu(# Jack! — How Self Entitlement Brought the Modern Day Roman Empire to its Knees.

    Lastly, I have posted my last comment on this blog and expect Mark to ensure that my number of posts is correct (over 100). I have enjoyed the exchange, passion and collective wisdom on this blog and that includes those that did not agree with me. Thank you all for your incredible insights; most of you would do a better job of running Nortel that the self-proclaimed ‘World Classers’ ever will.

    And to the employees, hear this: plenty of start-ups looking for disillusioned talent. I bid you all farewell and fell free to stay in touch at the email address below…–bb

    bill@oleolemedia.com

  • AcrimoniousAl

    I agree with the comments about Jack Welch being over-rated. He is also known as “Neutron Jack” (in reference to the neutron bomb) for eliminating employees while leaving buildings intact.

    I read part of “Jack: Straight from the Gut” but couldn't stand the self-aggrandizing book. I can't wait to read FU(# Jack!. I am sure it will be much more palatable.

  • Another Nortel Watcher

    bb – your observation is right on target, as usual. GE and Jack Welch were successful because they were basically running a holding company and those can be based on Excel and six-sigma. Buy an already successful company and make it more efficient. Easy recipe. If a company (now a division) underperforms, sell it off and invest in a better one.

    It works for GE but the model for Nortel is entirely different. Nortel is not a holding company. Nortel needs to add value and execute on a strategy that will make money. There is no option to just sell off a chunk of the company and invest in something else. MZ is a mismatch for the requirements of his role and that is why the stock has lost >95% of it's value under his watch.

  • Ex-UMTS

    I worked at Nortel for a long time, and left just as Mike Z was coming on board. One of the reason why I left because I was bitter at how Nortel (especially its HR) was treating its people, but felt that the company will do fine without me, especially with its new CEO coming on board.

    3 years later, it is heartbreaking to see the company value fall to where it is. I lost tens of ks on Nortel employee stock but that's not what hurts me. What hurts me is the inability of the company to become a respected competitor despite the fact that it still has loyal and hard working people. I worked with them for more than a decade, and convinced that they are equal or better than those at other companies which are valued much higher.

    I wish the best for the company, and hope it makes something out of the mess it is in. Its suffering employees deserve better.

  • exnt

    So to summarize your position yes4aapl: “ick ack blot wadda wadda”

  • The Psychiatrist

    I worked at Nortel for a long time, and left just as Mike Z was coming on board. One of the reason why I left because I was bitter at how Nortel (especially its HR) was treating its people, but felt that the company will do fine without me, especially with its new CEO coming on board.

    Your story sounds a little hard to believe considering the average earnings that an NT employee earns.I think most people would tolerate a less than ideal HR department,if they were earning $60K plus per year.

  • Tongue.In.Cheek

    Actually, he has a habit for the past 4 years of calling anyone supportive of Nortel, including their employees CROOKS. He even attacked Bo Gowan on this blog a couple of months ago. He wants Bankruptcy and for all virtually all Nortel employees to feel the associated pain.

  • exnortel

    Worked there 10 yrs. Yes people are raising families and paying bills. This is why I left. Unless your rich or unless your single with nobody depending on your income but yourself, then its time to face reality and move on and protect your family's standard of living if you can. Don't gamble because most likely the company is going down. There wont be a nice severance package either. Change is hard, this is why most people stay the course and go down with the ship. Look ahead 5 yrs. Will NT be here…….most likely not, take responsibility and please move on to other companies. It sucks making changes, but sucks more looking for work unemployed.

  • protosphere

    I worked with a large variety of software /electrical /mechanical engineers assimilating projects in to print for large industrial automation applications before company became a crown corporation then went bust.

    Surprisingly, a few the higher ranking team leaders started their own businesses failing to find work in their field where I suspect many of these engineers at Nortel today may not necessarily be working in telecom either. I wonder what happened to the 60K of approx. 90K Nortel employees. Would be interesting to learn what they are doing today.

    Engineers are generally intelligent and hard working people as might be expected by some of our other most respected members of society like doctors and lawyers. However, I believe they are also the lowest paid profession relative to the amount of post secondary study. I hope they go out and make their mark with their enormous advantage if they can not work for some one else in short notice. They are good guys and generally too smart to fall prey to vice too, I hope they have no problem continuing being successful in life.

    Personally, I would encourage the people who may not want or be able to find work to look at the endless possibilities out there than become discouraged which would be the first step to failure. I hope the consider that good ideas are a dime a dozen but the courage to put them into action is rare and that a quitter never wins and a winner never quits in their relentless pursuit of success and their need to build.

    Engineers have an enormous advantage with their intelligence and can even get financing from the EDC with a sound business plan, or they can continue working for some one else. Up to them to do anything they please. I am sure there are zillions of things to consider over a quick coffee break or tea in how time is money =)

    God bless the good engineers.

    However, may the criminal authorities in Canada set a precedent with the alleged crooks who created this whole bonus gate by falsifying the good engineers and sales people's achievements. The pay happy at the top already ruined many thousands of lives for their corrupt and callous disregard where their employees and shareholders never deserved this outrageous catastrophe. It is astounding there were no safeguards in place to prevent them from pulling this off. It is the retirees who lost their nest eggs with this company that are less able to recover than their employees I fear.

    Their employees are just another group of dear people who supported them. What they got in return for their loyal support was market misfortune or governance that screwed them by corruption or incompetence. Perhaps not unlike or public sector's governance concerning airbus and ad scandal-gates where the larger the administration the greater the error factor.

    If they had folded at 43 cents, more would not have fallen prey to the fraud for bonuses and their good engineers may have already been working elsewhere by now. Maybe it is due and a blessing in disguise than prolong the pain with more layoffs and ongoing pay happy hype to contradiction. Maybe it is due huh? Like enough is enough already?

    Everyone would have rather seen them boom and hire and become successful but this is not the reality, and as hard as it is not to cry over the incomprehensible damages which would only prove counter productive anyways at this stage. To hell with Northell and god bless their good engineers washing their hands of them never to create the largest fraud rally in Canadian history again or have regulatory authorities act contrary of what they are there to do backed by creative mega financing in their high circles steering this ship. Lets hope some thing changes as a result of this to protect future employees and investors of other companies . Good riddance Nortel and may its stigma not effect their good employees.

  • Nortel watcher

    ex-nt,
    I know a couple of guys at NT with 15 yrs at the company who took ex-pat assignments at one time and have since been back. They say their salaries are not easily matched in the telco world and have felt that way since the tech bubble burst in '01.

    Consequently, they will sit it out and hope their good relationship with their bosses spares them yet one more time. They say it is one small way to get back what they lost in their nortel holdings via their 401k. In other words, the extra $50K per year they are making by not leaving Nortel is worth staying.

    Understandably, these are exceptions and most NT employees are not making that far above industry-level salaries.

  • pm

    There are two reasons why the stock is trading at this rediculously low multiple :
    #1 Manipulation
    #2 Fear
    If you own NT shares and are studip enough to sell them (give them away) at this price and make the manipulators rich then go for it. The market needs to be purged of your kind.

  • yes4aapl

    I call crooks when I see them. I call honest employees honest and crooked employees, proven many times on these boards for lies and hyping NT stock to fool investors, crooks.
    I called Mike Z a liar after Q2 cc and it was just that. He should know better at that moments about lower revenues!
    Why I could calculate that with simple math and he couldn't?
    It was Bo Gowan who attacked me for my calculations that there will be no growth of NT business in 2008 and that there must be additional 3-4 k job cut.
    As we know now, I was just right.
    Why Bo Gowan hides under the rock now?
    Not only business is slowing down in 2008 but also 2009 would be a tragedy if Mike did not do the drastic cuts and sell off of assets.
    I said mark my words and let me now find that post for you and the tread it was in.

    20 Cents pre split is very close to the last Chapter, isn't it Mister?
    33k employees will feel the pain which a million or more NT investors have been there for years.
    What employees will lose? Culture of deception? They will get unemployment benefits at least and severance package better yet? Investors lost $400 bill in that stock. Don’t tell me your numbers Sir. Don’t tell me I have no rights to defend my view, to defend my family or my friends against Nortel’s false numbers reported quarter after quarter after quarter…When NT will stop false reporting?
    btw
    You can Buy as much of that stock as you want Mister!
    I am available for you if you have more questions Sir
    yes4aapl2007@yahoo.com

    My answer to Frank Burch 1 month ago.!
    http://www.allaboutnortel.com/2008/09/02/nortel…
    I cannot find my argument with Bo Gowan, you can try to search on your own
    I said Mark my words , about shrinking revenues and new job cuts coming.

    Mr Tongue.In.Cheek, are you the one who shamelessly hyped $282.40 target for 2007?
    Tell me about honesty, Sir!
    aliases
    · Not Observer
    · Nortel_will_survive
    · Nortel Will Survive
    · Tongue.In.Cheek

  • exnt2

    keep going but do not drink the executive kool-aid. just do the job. if the call does come dont give it much thought. take it. there is life after nortel maybe for the better.

  • exnt

    Well said Yes4aapl, and may I add: woody defend executives mikeZ ack dilly 2001.

  • Nortelhand

    I have been laid off, run off, de-staffed more times than I can count. Believe me there is a better deal down the road. It is hard to realize that when it is your first time to get cut, but believe me it alwasy is for the better.

    Just keep your technical skills well honed and be ready to relocate. 5 years from now you will be better off. But if you get the chance to throw tomatos at MZ and his worthless team, please do so for us investors. You Nortel workers ROCK!!

  • Shackled

    Tomatoes are 3.79/lb -> ~1.90/tomato. That's more than Nortel stock is worth. I'm not sure I want to waste them on Mike Z. Is there any other messy fruit/vegetable you can think of?

  • exnt2

    reach out to the community. pick up pumpkin goo prior to halloween carving. then pick up carved pumpkins after halloween. then get the posse, line up the crooks (Z and co), and throw all this at them. it will have a better effect than tomatoes. too thickskinned and fat headed you see.

    do not use all the six sigma black belts to co-ordinate. if they are as good as the work they did past two years, it may never happen.

  • ex-still a nortel slave

    I hope my severance does not get mixed up with any bankruptcy issues.

  • Clint

    Do you think you deserve a severance?

  • Another Nortel Watcher

    Does it matter? Bankruptcy = bad, bad news for those expecting severance and/or pensions.

  • Clint

    Place isn't going to go Bankrupt.
    You can take that to the Bank.

  • exnt2

    Clint must be an exec or a new hire. Less said about the commonalities the better.

    Severance can get mixed into bankruptcy because it is not set aside in escrow. if the company goes down so do the severances, pensions, payroll. with junk bond status, penny stock state this is heading for a lockout meaning the company cannot continue its biz. with the size of debt, they will have to restructure under bankruptcy protection from creditors. this includes creditors, shareholders and employees.

    creditors will start bailing and call in for debt owed. in about a month you will see enormous pressure on nortel. sad but true.

  • http://www.setpointusa.com/custom-machines/swage-machine.html Swage Machine

    Even professionals are force to find a job that not suitable to their fields.. I can say that recession really affect us..

  • yes4aapl

    PM
    ===
    re
    Let me remind you your stupid post. I hope it will get into your email box
    History lesson!

  • yes4aapl

    PM
    ===
    re
    Let me remind you your stupid post. I hope it will get into your email box
    History lesson!

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