Nortel to Slash 3,200 More Jobs

Failed networking gearmaker Nortel(NT Quote) is pulling out the ax again with plans to cut another 3,200 employees, or about 11% of the total workforce.

The Toronto telecom equipment supplier, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, says the new cuts are additional to the 1,800 job cuts previously announced.

"Significant changes are required to regain our financial footing," CEO Mike Zafirovski said in a press release Wednesday. "Tough decisions are being made to restructure the company and work towards a successful emergence from creditor protection."

Nortel also said it will not pay any bonuses for 2008.

The tech giant says it has begun working with creditors on a restructuring plan. The company added that it has the resources to continue sales and its customer service support.

Gear peers like Alcatel Lucent (ALU Quote), Ericsson (ERIC Quote) and Cisco (CSCO Quote) have managed to navigate through a tough period marked by the consolidation of telco customers and rounds of spending pullbacks.

But Nortel never recovered from the Internet building bust and a devastating executive bonus scandal in 2003 that swept out nearly all of its top management and board of directors. Zafirovski was recruited from Motorola(MOT Quote) to help lead a turnaround. But after several years of staff cuts and product reductions, he was unable to bring Nortel back to health.