Nortel, the bankrupt telecommunications gear maker, said today it will lay off an additional 3,200 workers worldwide over the coming months — bringing its total workforce down to 25,000. The Canadian company, which filed for bankruptcy in January, said last November that it would cut 1,300 employees — and that was on top of a 1,200-person culling announced even earlier. As part of today’s news it said that while 1,800 of those earlier layoffs have not yet been completed, they will still be made. Mike Zafirovski, Nortel president and chief executive officer, said in a statement:

“Nortel is a company driven by people and innovation. But with the unprecedented economic environment and resultant impacts on revenues, significant changes are required to regain our financial footing. Tough decisions are being made to restructure the company and work towards a successful emergence from creditor protection.”

Additional layoffs were expected as part of the bankruptcy proceedings, and will help reduce costs. But while Nortel also went into bankruptcy with more cash on hand than is typical, amid such tough times for the telecommunications industry, the company may still end up as a subsidiary of a larger company or be sold off in bits.