The layoffs are separate from today's early retirement offer. Today's news comes a week after the collapse of merger talks with telecommunications rival Paris-based Alcatel. They passed on Alcatel because they wanted a merger of equals. They didn't want to be just an acquisition. But that's crazy because a merger of equals doesn't work.
Someone has to be the boss.
Slaby said Lucent is trying to raise cash by selling its fiber-optic cabling unit and Alcatel would probably get back in the bidding for that division. Lucent, however, isn't in a bargaining position to get the best price. Cutting head count is a way to reduce operating expenses in the short term. Lucent will regret passing up Alcatel's acquisition offer. Eventually, they will be bought and it will make the Alcatel deal look like a sweet one.