Nortel Shuffle Gets Under Way

Nortel's (NT Quote) new hard-charging chief isn't wasting any time putting his stamp on the company's rebuilding efforts.

Barely two weeks into his job as Nortel's CEO, Mike Zafirovski has shaken up the organization by firing two top executives: research chief Brian McFadden and services head Sue Spradley. The company says the "organizational changes" were effective Monday.

Some analysts say Zafirovski's initial strike seems to take aim at some of Nortel's poorly performing businesses. McFadden had previously led the company's optical networking unit, and Spradley once ran Nortel's old-line telecom equipment division. ...