All About Nortel - Latest Comments in What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

nortelsuxs — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:33:58 -0000

Why hasn't the worthless Mike Z and his GE cronies been fired yet? His five year plan has done nothing but further destroy Nortel. GE is also sinking fast and the sick sigma management style is doing nothing to keep it afloat, just like it is doing nothing for Nortel. Maybe the sick sigma black belts should turn into ninjas and take Mike Z out in the middle of the night. That at least would justify the expense of the sick sigma program at Nortel.

Since Mike Z hasn't been fired, doesnt this mean that the board is also part of the grand scheme to fleece what is left of Nortel...

Mike Z should have at least been fired for the content of the following article:

http://www.billingworld.com/news/briefs/struggl...

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

SexyBeast — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 12:01:46 -0000

Nortel is investing too heavily in Asia and are setting
themselves up for disaster.
The chinese will cheat, steal, copyright/patent infringe and pull the rug right from under them.
Z will leave the carpet and be airborne with such torque twist and force due to the sudden yank he could probably drill a hole in Beijing Bobs Skull. All at the expense
of the North American Employees.
I thought Nortel were building that huge R and D campus over there because the Chinese were buying nortel gear and signing contracts? Looks like all that dried up, but the building continues over there and the investment turns softer and softer. What a crock.
If Nortel want to make headway, fire the marketers they
have now and get some innovative commercials and advertising that feature COMEDY. You know laughter, the universal language. They also need the Canadian Government to put some more pokers in their fire. After all isn't Nortel suppose to be Canadas Crown Jewel of Technology? The gov't treat it like a Crown Royal. And what good did John Manley ever do on the board?
Anybody?
I know one thing.
Nortels best prospects are definitely not in China, Mexico, India, Poland or God knows
where they'll be looking next...North Korea?
Outsourcing is a traitorous choice.
If they let got the right people in North America they have a chance.
Ditch the suits, the under achieving marketers, salespeople, admin, poor market
strategizers, managers that aren't managing their employees, a meaningful
project or something progressive, and the plethera of idiots that Z keeps promoting or hiring for dumb ass positions and programs like black belt, sigma six, ethics and all that other crap.
Nortel need an intellectual go getter home grown Canadian like Don Cherry with
the proper knowledge to succeed.
Maybe Canada should get out of NAFTA and Alberta and it's oilfields should
be the capital of Canada. Definitely not Ottawa or Toronto.
We'll see what happens..We'll see....
I disagree with the India/China Comment.
Outsourcing has shown to have the opposite effect of that which was desirous.
China is no longer a low cost center.
It has become too westernized and the average salary per engineer head between
the Two countries is NOW LESS than 2:1 and the gap is rapidly closing.
China has not shown they can make a profit for Nortel and in fact it is a losing
endeavour. Many Chinese leave nortel after basic training along with stealing
technology so they can go peddle their wares at Huaweii or other Chinese Companies. The chinese can do manufacturing (so long as we are not
talking about anything too complex) but design, engineering and
even support is another story. They fail miserably at that. If nortel continue to invest
these skillsets in China and India and other cheap
markets that simply cannot turn over a profit the company will slip into oblivion.
Mexico and Poland (particularly the quality of workmanship from Mexico) will
have disastrous effects on the bottom line if Nortel cotinue their investment
in places like this.
Here is how Nortel Needs to Get Fixed:
A/ More subsidies from the Canadian government. The government talks how
important Nortel is To Canada. They should put their money with their mouth
is rather than have John Manley walking around like he is doing Nortel a favour
which they deserve based on their history and contributions to the telco world.
Talk and suits (unless you are Don Cherry) are cheap.
B/ Massive re-org to cut the fact from JCI-4 positions and up. Promote JCI 1, 2 and 3
to managerial positions if they want it and save a ton of money with better informed
more eager people who know how things really work at all levels.
B/ Immediate salary freeeze on anybody earning over 100k unless they have patents
in their name and are one of only a few who can do a particular job at Nortel.
Nortel have to start looking at how much people earn and what kind of job they are
doing. Administration salaries over 70k/year is ridiculous. SG&A on the whole
over 70k is ridiculous.
C/ Instead of outsourcing to cheaper markets that don't deliver they need to clean up
their own house with respect to overinflated salaries paid.
The scientists, researchers, designers, engineers, support and people who
are hands on, doing the working, contributing to revenue and saving money by
doing more than the job they are paid for are the ones they have to keep and
compensate accordingly. If they make the right choices they can salvage the place.
But historically this just does not seem to happen.
Lean sigma six and black belt is a crock.
Let the young experience people who work on the floor and are directly responsible
for revenue come up with ideas they can be compensated for.
Overcompensating managers who should be gone with ridiculous programs like
this is a huge waste of resources and money.

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

Friend — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:06:52 -0000

Incompetance, gets rewwarded!!! Get rid of the first line managers, now!! They are a bunch of deadbeats!!

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

observer — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:35:26 -0000

test

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

Observer — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:39:02 -0000

Nortel employees should post their opinions here as well...

http://www.jobvent.com/companyBrowse.php?Compan...

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

Observer — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:14:40 -0000

sounds like the party is over and hope doesn't linger on.

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

NOrtel — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:53:33 -0000

the popular word within the company is No for everything.

it does not matter whether least effective or most effective. the lean six sigma ironically is to make the company leaner. so irrespective of how one performs there will be a layoff coming almost every quarter. each manager will to identify one person. even if there is a ton of least effectives somewhere else it does not matter.

that is process a bunch of bean coutners.

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

nortel_emp — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 11:28:42 -0000

I'm leaving Nortel for anther vendor. During more than 3 years working for Nortel in R&D and now in Global Services, it's now really sad to say that " It's enough for Nortel, I can not stand it any more... manager ->bad, priorities process -->suck... although I was commented with Most Effective but it's worth nothing. No career development, so future. Time up for Nortel

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

stan — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:21:00 -0000

I saw a comment below the least effectives have been fired and most effective (top guns) left doing the work.....well last year I saw 3 MEs go involuntary and 2 LEs kept, how is this possible you say?? simple....the LEs were in products where growth was
forecast, namely Wimax..the MEs were in Optical, and that oh so old fashioned CVoiP.
Guess what happened to those MEs? they got hired by Ericsson and Alcatel within 1 week on higher salaries than Nortel....thats the Nortel of today...mediocre and blinded by stats...

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

stan — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:11:38 -0000

I look at people at work and I think they are suffering something similar to
battle fatigue. They are tired of the retoric and propaganda of Mike Z and his
GE cronies.

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

CaoNiMa — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 04:58:19 -0000

I will find a new job in another company.

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

IamCanadian — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:35:38 -0000

Each of the managment leaders Zman hired (ex-GE guys), brought in their own people. They come in; blow hot air and re-org after re-org (make-work-project to show something is being done) and hundreds of so-called 6sigma Master Black Belts hired the last couple years to make/measure key metrics so that can show operation margin improved this that to get their undesrved bonus...

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

centthoughts — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:17:42 -0000

Anyone know how the Nortel's CALA office in Sunrise, Florida will fare with the announced layoffs and job transfers?

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

ex-nortel — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:28:53 -0000

I left last year of my own volition. I don't think Nortel has the internal capability to be anything more than moderately successful in any market through anything other than luck. In more than one market would be miraculous. Maybe it could succeed as a niche player but not as a Tier-1 vendor. Each CEO from Roth onwards has promised big and disappointed. Dunn - focussed on accounting, not products, and look how that worked out. Owens - seemed like a desperate (brilliant, if it worked) appointment and he had ideas that revitalized morale a bit, but not a lot came from them. Zafirovski - Nortel used to be about a carrier-grade culture - that was driven by engineers who took pride in their products. Now its a top down six sigma culture - except with more R&D constraints, more cost cutting, outsourcing decisions which many believe has resulted in declining quality, low onshore morale, turnover of good engineers to 'greener pastures', constant exec changes and increased competition from outside it seems we can measure how bad we suck, not how good we are. Sure, six sigma might result in process improvements but I am extremely sceptical that the products will ever be as good as they used to be when employee engagement was much higher , when there were less resource constraints, when the best people were working there and when overall, people were happy. Zafirovski was very vocal when he came in and I think most employees bought into his vision. But it hasn't materialized. I lost my respect for that mgmt team - not just through what seems like failed execution but because of what seems like arrogance on their part, Hackney notwithstanding. I hope they can succeed but I don't think it's in their fabric any more.

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

buckpost — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:08:37 -0000

Hey, competition! I'll check it out.

Thanks.

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

spectator — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:47:49 -0000

http://blogs.nortel.com/buzzboard/2008/02/27/no...

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

outthedoor — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:01:12 -0000

get your money and run while you can. they cannot afford to pay a lot. too much fat that costs a lot.

if NT were a patient it would be high cholestrol, blocked arteries, heart attack, major bypass and stuck on life support until organs are harvested.

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

WaitingForExit — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:30:10 -0000

I am current and these are the views of an R&D insider. I start with the bottom line: Life here sucks. Plain and simple. Let me explain why...

- low employee morale and lack of trust of execs
- fear of outsourcing/training your replacements
- no career growth potential
- regular benefit cuts
- constant fear of layoffs (for some)
- no tolerance for innovation, managers want to play it safe and save their a$$
- did I mention low morale?

On a bright site, I, like so many others, am hoping I get the notice soon and walk away (while I still can) with my retirement.

Cheers

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

Huh — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:02:59 -0000

New management supposedly fired all the non-performers long ago, so now there are only the top guns left. - and, of course, management itself. Why is business still sucking?

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

oneof34kleft — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:26:12 -0000

i'm hoping for a notice.. this company is upside down on their retirement fund to the tune of 2.9 billion. i want to grab my lump sum and run.. i can see a bankruptcy and a loss of all retirement funds..
why does nt have to be a global company when the market is so different around the globe? nt-na, nt-eu, nt-asia etc...
6 sigma. own it, are only buzz words that say to me ' i ,upper management, will not take responsibility for anything bad that happens". i challenge you to show everybody where these phony plans have worked with out pain to those that really produce.
MZ and his cronies don't have a clue. out source engineering to mexico, half a** engineering is the result. out source supply chain to ??? where are the parts..
i have been on a job since week 1 that was to run 4 weeks. i am still there and will be for 2 more, reason, incomplete engineering, parts have still not been delivered. gosh, somebody pony up a credit card so we can buy the parts.. we can not survive waiting for parts..

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

wondering — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:21:01 -0000

A New Hope puts it very well. Indeed you bring out the other part of the textile business analogy - that there are still jobs in the West for 'brand-marketeers', and unfortunately Nortel cannot define a brand. Hyperconnectivity is just a long word and doesn't do it. It has tried to cover all bases and isn't big enough. So indeed it is time for a gamble on a new product, and bow out if it doesn't fly. The alternative is a slow death even with outsourcing (making products cheaper is still no good if they are not wanted).

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

AnotherFormerNortel — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:14:56 -0000

I left in November, but it's sad to see this continuing news anyway.

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

FormerNortel — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:07:27 -0000

I would have to say congratulation, I tried to get them to lay me off and they would not do it. It was such a great relief to say I quit and not go home thinking about Nortel work on a daily basis. My stress level has dropped to near zero now if I could just do something about my 12 year old daughter but that is another story.

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

outthedoor — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:48:50 -0000

got my notice yesterday. thank god. out of here. no point sitting around in fear.

luck favors the brave.

Re: What Do You Think, Nortel Employees?

dwindling hope — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:31:44 -0000

I agree with Wondering and A New Hope. Part of the telecom market has become a commodity. Like it or not, and despite how hard they are trying not to be, the large carriers are now simply bit-movers. Nortel is still focused on making pipes for the bit-movers to buy to move the bits through.

A recent poll shows that 78% of iPhone users are VERY SATISFIED with their experience. I bet if you include SATISFIED and VERY SATISFIED it would be well above 90%. What do users like about the iPhone? Is it AT&T? No, AT&T is the necessarily evil that brings phone calls and slow data rates. The iPhone revolutionizes how people connect to and use information. AT&T gets in the way but there's no better way to deliver ubiquitous voice calls at the moment.

Nortel needs to figure out how to align with the iPhones of the telecom world rather than the AT&T's. Selling pipes to AT&T is a commodity business, and whoever makes the cheapest pipes wins. See Huawei.

I don't see how we (Nortel) are getting out of the pipe making business, so my hopes are very low right now as an employee. We're doing yeoman's work cutting costs. What are we doing about growth?