Here’s an e-mail that Joel Hackney, who heads up Nortel’s enterprise business, sent out after Avaya’s $900-million purchase of the business:
Team,
Today marks an important day in the future of our Enterprise Solutions business as earlier this morning it was affirmed that Avaya is the winning bidder. Avaya was selected as the stalking horse because of its commitment to serving the best interests of all stakeholders, and the affirmation of its winning bid today underscores that initial choice. The formal court approval is expected to occur on September 15, and the deal close is targeted for late in Q4. In some EMEA jurisdictions, this transaction is subject to information and consultation with employee representatives.
This milestone sets the stage to create a company that will fundamentally reshape how businesses communicate. With the addition of the Nortel Enterprise Solutions business at the close of the transaction, the combined capabilities of the new Avaya will represent more than 8,000 patents and industry leading innovation focused on helping companies communicate more intelligently. It will bring expanded portfolio breadth, channel capabilities and vertical segment strength into Avaya, and for Nortel customers, it will provide broader services offerings as well as access to greater Web 2.0 features and benefits.
Getting to this point took an incredible effort across the entire Enterprise organization. In short, your performance thru the toughest times imaginable has been stated by many stakeholders as “remarkable” and one of the most inspired efforts in business. In the midst of the restructuring, we not only retained key customers, but we also picked up several new customers and grew our revenue in second quarter. Where others in the marketplace pulled back on their product plans, we forged ahead and met our product delivery roadmap commitments. It has been a privilege to work with a team who can see what is possible and then spend days, nights and weekends making it a reality.
I realize the most pressing issue for all of you is whether or not you will have a job with Avaya. It is expected that, at a minimum, Avaya will employ about three-quarters of Enterprise Solutions employees globally. This includes the full Nortel Government Solutions workforce and most employees who work wholly or mainly for the Enterprise Solutions business in countries with an Acquired Rights Directive (ARD) or similar law. ARD or similar laws apply in many of the countries in EMEA and require that employment automatically transfers to the purchaser upon an acquisition of the business. Outside of Nortel Government Solutions employees and those employees in countries where ARD or similar laws apply, we expect that a minimum of about 60% of the remaining Enterprise Solutions workforce will be offered employment with Avaya.
In countries outside EMEA where we will complete a selection process prior to close, our goal is to inform all employees as soon as possible whether they are in-scope or out-of-scope for a position at Avaya. Our principle is to move fast in making these decisions for the sake of all employees’ ability to know their status. The process will be managed jointly by Nortel and Avaya leaders, taking into account functional and positional requirements for the new Avaya. We will seek to inform employees of their status as we are able to confirm it over the coming weeks, and we expect to complete selections by mid-October in most functions and geographies. In parallel, we will continue to drive the Nortel Enterprise business through the close date under our current business and workforce plans.
Providing a continued path for professional growth has been a key element of all proposals we evaluated, and Kevin Kennedy himself has spoken openly about the need to proactively engage both Nortel and Avaya employees. We will seek to be open and transparent regarding the selection process and focused on building the strongest team possible in the new Avaya and maintaining business momentum in Nortel Enterprise Solutions through the close date.
Integration planning with Avaya is already underway and will accelerate over the coming weeks as we seek to combine the best of both companies. There will undoubtedly be challenges along the way, but if we continue to focus our actions on delivering what is best for our customers, we will be well served.
And when it comes to execution, we simply can’t miss a beat. Since filing, our customer support has been outstanding, and we need to show our customers the same levels of service and support from now until close – and beyond. Maintaining our business momentum has never been more important, so let’s keep our feet firmly pressed against the accelerator as we finish this quarter and enter Q4.
A new journey begins in earnest today. Like many of you, I am excited about creating our future. Together with Avaya, we have an exciting opportunity to redefine the landscape of business communications.
Thank you for all you have done to bring us to this day and for the amazing work you have done on behalf of our customers.
No doubt you have many questions about today’s announcement. Please join me and the Enterprise senior leadership team for an All-hands Enterprise GIS audio webcast today, September 14, at 11:00 a.m. EDT. Throughout this process we are committed to communicating all significant developments, answering your questions and providing you with timely information.
Click here to add this event to your Outlook calendar (select “Open” then “Save and Close”). A playback will be made available for those not able to participate in the live session.
If you would like to pre-submit a question for the Enterprise GIS, please do so here.
In addition, for the Americas Sales Team, there will also be a GIS audio webcast today at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Click here to add this event to your Outlook calendar (select “Open” then “Save and Close”). A playback will be made available for those unable to attend this session. Additional Asia and EMEA GIS’s will be held starting tomorrow. Separate invitations will make those sessions available to you as well.
Please watch for more information from me later today with additional information, including links to supporting documentation for the sales team. I appreciate your hard work and attention to detail as we move through this transition and I look forward to speaking with you shortly.
Hackney’s Speech to the Enterprise Troops
Here’s an e-mail that Joel Hackney, who heads up Nortel’s enterprise business, sent out after Avaya’s $900-million purchase of the business:
Team,
Today marks an important day in the future of our Enterprise Solutions business as earlier this morning it was affirmed that Avaya is the winning bidder. Avaya was selected as the stalking horse because of its commitment to serving the best interests of all stakeholders, and the affirmation of its winning bid today underscores that initial choice. The formal court approval is expected to occur on September 15, and the deal close is targeted for late in Q4. In some EMEA jurisdictions, this transaction is subject to information and consultation with employee representatives.
This milestone sets the stage to create a company that will fundamentally reshape how businesses communicate. With the addition of the Nortel Enterprise Solutions business at the close of the transaction, the combined capabilities of the new Avaya will represent more than 8,000 patents and industry leading innovation focused on helping companies communicate more intelligently. It will bring expanded portfolio breadth, channel capabilities and vertical segment strength into Avaya, and for Nortel customers, it will provide broader services offerings as well as access to greater Web 2.0 features and benefits.
Getting to this point took an incredible effort across the entire Enterprise organization. In short, your performance thru the toughest times imaginable has been stated by many stakeholders as “remarkable” and one of the most inspired efforts in business. In the midst of the restructuring, we not only retained key customers, but we also picked up several new customers and grew our revenue in second quarter. Where others in the marketplace pulled back on their product plans, we forged ahead and met our product delivery roadmap commitments. It has been a privilege to work with a team who can see what is possible and then spend days, nights and weekends making it a reality.
I realize the most pressing issue for all of you is whether or not you will have a job with Avaya. It is expected that, at a minimum, Avaya will employ about three-quarters of Enterprise Solutions employees globally. This includes the full Nortel Government Solutions workforce and most employees who work wholly or mainly for the Enterprise Solutions business in countries with an Acquired Rights Directive (ARD) or similar law. ARD or similar laws apply in many of the countries in EMEA and require that employment automatically transfers to the purchaser upon an acquisition of the business. Outside of Nortel Government Solutions employees and those employees in countries where ARD or similar laws apply, we expect that a minimum of about 60% of the remaining Enterprise Solutions workforce will be offered employment with Avaya.
In countries outside EMEA where we will complete a selection process prior to close, our goal is to inform all employees as soon as possible whether they are in-scope or out-of-scope for a position at Avaya. Our principle is to move fast in making these decisions for the sake of all employees’ ability to know their status. The process will be managed jointly by Nortel and Avaya leaders, taking into account functional and positional requirements for the new Avaya. We will seek to inform employees of their status as we are able to confirm it over the coming weeks, and we expect to complete selections by mid-October in most functions and geographies. In parallel, we will continue to drive the Nortel Enterprise business through the close date under our current business and workforce plans.
Providing a continued path for professional growth has been a key element of all proposals we evaluated, and Kevin Kennedy himself has spoken openly about the need to proactively engage both Nortel and Avaya employees. We will seek to be open and transparent regarding the selection process and focused on building the strongest team possible in the new Avaya and maintaining business momentum in Nortel Enterprise Solutions through the close date.
Integration planning with Avaya is already underway and will accelerate over the coming weeks as we seek to combine the best of both companies. There will undoubtedly be challenges along the way, but if we continue to focus our actions on delivering what is best for our customers, we will be well served.
And when it comes to execution, we simply can’t miss a beat. Since filing, our customer support has been outstanding, and we need to show our customers the same levels of service and support from now until close – and beyond. Maintaining our business momentum has never been more important, so let’s keep our feet firmly pressed against the accelerator as we finish this quarter and enter Q4.
A new journey begins in earnest today. Like many of you, I am excited about creating our future. Together with Avaya, we have an exciting opportunity to redefine the landscape of business communications.
Thank you for all you have done to bring us to this day and for the amazing work you have done on behalf of our customers.
No doubt you have many questions about today’s announcement. Please join me and the Enterprise senior leadership team for an All-hands Enterprise GIS audio webcast today, September 14, at 11:00 a.m. EDT. Throughout this process we are committed to communicating all significant developments, answering your questions and providing you with timely information.
Click here to add this event to your Outlook calendar (select “Open” then “Save and Close”). A playback will be made available for those not able to participate in the live session.
If you would like to pre-submit a question for the Enterprise GIS, please do so here.
In addition, for the Americas Sales Team, there will also be a GIS audio webcast today at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Click here to add this event to your Outlook calendar (select “Open” then “Save and Close”). A playback will be made available for those unable to attend this session. Additional Asia and EMEA GIS’s will be held starting tomorrow. Separate invitations will make those sessions available to you as well.
Please watch for more information from me later today with additional information, including links to supporting documentation for the sales team. I appreciate your hard work and attention to detail as we move through this transition and I look forward to speaking with you shortly.
Joel Hackney
President, Enterprise Solutions