ZBlog : Answering Your Questions

It's been a busy week at Nortel. Let me just quickly run through the highlights:

• We didn't win the Verizon LTE deal.
• We sold most of our Alteon unit for $17.5 million. Roth paid $7.8 billion for it, so I feel pretty good about the deal.
• We announced another 3,200 job cuts in the coming months.

Obviously, with all this on my plate as well as flying commercial back from Barcelona, I've been unable to communicate as transparently and openly with you all as I would have liked. But now that I'm back, I'm pleased to be able to share all this news with you personally. It's all part of the transformation of Nortel, and part of the great progress we've made. It's part of the momentum that is building to carry Nortel forward on a sound footing. It's part of the long list of achievements we can all celebrate together, because Nortel is really its people and innovation. Take those away and we really wouldn't have Nortel. Well, that's not quite true, because we're taking 3,200 more away and I'll still have Nortel, but it's not a good idea to say that in front of the staff. Makes them restless.

I've had lots of employees email me over the past month and a half, mostly to tell me what a great job I've been doing and how they're dedicated to the turnaround of Nortel. A few of you have some questions, though, so I thought I'd take the chance today to adress some of those.

1. Why should I stay with Nortel through this process?

Well, that's a good question, and let me say this. First off, as Hackney told the guys on his team, you start looking for other work, we'll fire you first. Secondly, what part of we'll fire you first did you not understand? Now, I know that's not easy to hear, but it really is the most motivating thing I can think of to answer this question.

2. Why should we believe you when so many predictions you've made have been shown to be completely wrong?

Well, that's a good question, and let me say this. It was pretty hot in Barcelona, but we had a lot of traffic through the booth. Our customers are standing by us - too close for comfort sometimes to be honest - those booths get pretty sweaty. Our partners and suppliers are with us in this most crucial phase of stabilizing the business. We have to continue to deliver for our customers. I hope that answers this question for you.

3. How should employees who are laid off and have lost severance deal with the financial burden?

This is a tough question, and let me say this. We've had to make tough decisions. I feel their pain - I'm still getting over the jet thing and will be for some time. But at the same time we have to stabilize our business to execute for our customers and keep our partners and suppliers standing with us. I know that the notified employees will take a lot of comfort from seeing how stable we are when we've finished stabilizing. And I know that they will be happy to see how closely our customers are standing by us, when we're standing on the firm financial footing. So even though things might look grim for them, with no money coming in and families to support, I think even those employees must see the silver lining in all of this - a Nortel on a sound financial footing, once and for all, going forward with customers, partners and suppliers. And of course if things get really tough, I can certainly advise those employees to seek creditor protection for themselves.

4. How are you coping with all of this?

Well, thanks for your concern. I'm doing just fine - $5,000 a day seems to be just about keeping my family.

I hope that's given you a good insight into my thinking at this stage. I'll have more of your questions answered in the near future. You can always email me suggested topics at fakemikezed@gmail.com.