DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Tellabs Inc. (TLAB) plans to trim 150 jobs, or nearly 5% of its
work force, as the company tries to cut costs amid lower demand for
telecommunications equipment.
The supplier of voice, data and video systems has roughly 3,230
employees. The company expects to record charges of $5 million to
$6 million in the next several quarters from the job cuts.
Tellabs in April, while reporting lower first-quarter results,
said while sales of its data products have been growing, it hasn't
been enough to offset declines in the rest of its broadband
business.
The company's phone and Internet clients include giants such as
AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), which are
being cautious on capital spending. The global recession is just
the latest challenge for the telecom networking industry, on top of
increased competition from low-cost Asian rivals and weakening
leverage amid consolidation in the telecommunications sector.
Tellab shares fell 3.1% at $5.35 in early trading. The stock is
up 29% this year.
-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481;
tess.stynes@dowjones.com