Ciena Corp. (CIEN), once thought to be a prime buyer candidate for Nortel’s Metro Ethernet Networks unit, suffered such a large loss in its first fiscal quarter that acquisition talk is off the table – instead, the conversation now is centered around job cuts.
The Maryland-based maker of optical networking equipment said Thursday it has laid off 200 people, or 9 percent of its work force, so it can save a quarterly $80 million.
Ciena’s quarter ended Jan. 31 and the company said it was hit by a net loss of $25 million, compared to profit of $28.8 million during the same period a year earlier. Sales sunk, too, by 26 percent. That translated to $167 million, down from $227 million as telecom companies reined in their capex spending.
