Apr 18, 2001 - 11:18 AM

Tellabs Cuts 6 Percent of Work Force The Associated Press

LISLE, Ill. (AP) - Tellabs Inc. is cutting 550 jobs, or 6 percent of its work force, to reduce costs in response to falling demand for telecommunications equipment. The company also said Wednesday it will reduce discretionary spending, cut back on manufacturing, eliminate salary increases, cut executives' pay and consolidate "excess facilities."

In addition to the job cuts, it has decided not to fill 1,100 open positions, after already eliminating 450 temporary or contract positions during the first quarter. It currently employs about 9,000.

The restructuring and related moves are expected to reduce company costs by 5 percent to 6 percent.

Tellabs, based in the western Chicago suburb of Lisle, designs and builds optical networking, broadband access and switching equipment.

Its stock fell 13 cents to $34.96 a share Wednesday morning on the Nasdaq Stock Market, near the two-year low it reached earlier this month.

President and chief executive officer Richard Notebaert called the job cuts unfortunate but said the company's outlook remains positive.

"By paring back our efforts in next-generation switching, we are aligning with our customers' priorities and strengthening our initiatives in high-growth areas such as optical networking," he said. "Despite the current challenges, I am as confident as ever in Tellabs' long-term prospects and our ability to deliver strong revenue and earnings growth in the future."

The announcement came as the company released earnings and a week after it warned it would not meet estimates for the quarter, facing a similar plight to that of fellow telecom equipment makers Lucent Technologies Inc. and ADC Telecommunications Inc.

Net earnings were $122.5 million, or 29 cents a share, up from pro forma results of $108 million, or 22 cents a share, in the same quarter of 2000. Sales rose 22 percent to $772 million from $631 million.

Sales of optical networking equipment in the quarter rose 22 percent to $482 million, while sales of broadband access products were flat at $153 million. Sales of voice quality enhancement products fell to $33 million from $54 million

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On the Net: http://www.tellabs.com

AP-ES-04-18-01 1118EDT © Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2001

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http://www.boston.com/dailynews/108/nation/Computer_maker_says_it_will _cu:.shtml

Computer maker says it will cut 3,000 jobs, miss earnings expectations

By Associated Press, 4/18/2001 21:54

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) Computer giant Hewlett-Packard plans to cut up to 3,000 management jobs to reduce costs as it expects to fall short of earnings and revenue expectations for its second fiscal quarter.

Blaming the worldwide decline in consumer spending in information technology, the computer company said Wednesday it expects earnings per share of between 13 cents and 17 cents for the quarter ending April 30.

This estimate includes approximately $150 million of one-time reductions in the value of its inventory and other writedowns.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call had been expecting earnings of 35 cents a share for the quarter although those estimates typically exclude the impact of one-time writedowns.

The company's chairman, president and chief executive, Carly Fiorina, said the company will not defer salary increases beyond the 90-day delay instituted during the first quarter.

Instead, the company will try other ways to reduce expenses, including maintaining tight control of discretionary spending, requiring employees to take incremental days off and the elimination of up to 3,000 management positions.

The computer company also said it expects a revenue decline of up to 4 percent for the second quarter.

''At this time, it is quite clear that the U.S. downturn in the consumer market is now spreading to other regions, notably Europe,'' Fiorina said.

Despite the gloomy forecast, Hewlett-Packard shares rose $2.65, more than 9 percent, to close at $31.90, joining a broad rally on the New York Stock Exchange.

On The Web:

Hewlett-Packard: www.hp.com.

-- Anonymous, April 19, 2001