Nortel has reassured Australian customers that it's business as usual for its local operation, despite filing for bankruptcy protection in North America and entering administration in the United Kingdom.
Nortel has reassured Australian customers that it's business as usual for its local operation, despite filing for bankruptcy protection in North America and entering administration in the United Kingdom.
In Australia
from an impact point of view we see no change in the day-to-day
operations
Nortel's Anthony Mclachlan
Nortel's Australian customers have included the University of Western Sydney, Sydney's Macquarie University, Perth's Edith Cowan University and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, St George Bank, Queensland Cotton, Kleenmaid, Austock and Wannon Water and law firm Middletons, as well as major local telcos such as Telstra and Optus.
The company's Australian and New Zealand chief, Mark Stevens, was not available to comment, but the company's vice president of Asian carrier
sales, Anthony Mclachlan told ZDNet.com.au that local customers wouldn't see a change in the status quo as Australia and Asia Pacific were
not included in the Chapter 11 proceedings.
"Customers have been nervous, they're looking for reassurance
as to what our plans are. That's a fair thing," he said. "What they're interested in
is the ability to support their networks and supply."
"Particularly in Australia
from an impact point of view we see no change in the day-to-day
operations," Mclachlan added. The company has been talking with customers
about the situation.
"While we have a solid cash position in our business, this is
to be able to focus on restructuring our legacy financing," he
continued, talking about the company's long term debt. "We've picked
the time to do it now." Nortel has about US$2.6 billion in
cash.
Supply was secure, he reassured, with the company amending an
agreement with major supplier Flextronics to make sure the company
will continue to supply Nortel.
When asked if he believed the Chapter 11 announcement would have
a negative effect on future sales in the region, Mclachlan said he thought customers appreciated the company being transparent. "We are still developing new products; we're still winning new
business. Many in the Australian market are still rolling
out," he said.
What the planned financial and business restructuring would mean
for Nortel jobs was uncertain, with Mclachlan reiterating
that there have been no announcements made about employees. The company
announced plans to cut 1,300 jobs last November after having a tough
quarter.
Nortel's last posted Australian financial results showed the company in a sharp revenue decline for the year ended 31 December 2007. Revenue dropped 20.5 per cent in the period to $198.4 million, mainly due to Telstra's decision to use the UMTS standard (which Nortel does not support) when it built its Next G mobile network; Telstra's CDMA network had been supplied by Nortel.
At that time Nortel had 473 employees in Australia.
