JDSU to Cut 33 Percent of Its Workforce

Om Malik — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:28:55 +0000

JDSU, an optical component and test equipment company that once commanded a megabillion-dollar market capitalization (which earned them a place in my book, “Broadbandits”), has fallen on hard times. Despite growing demand for bandwidth and connectivity, JDSU, like many of its peers, has been skating on thin ice. A sharp downturn in demand from the communications sector saw the company miss its second-quarter fiscal 2009 revenue target by six percent; it reported sales of $357 million vs. consensus estimates of $372 million. The company is going to see even further shrinkage, saying it expects revenue for the quarter ending March 28, 2009 to range from $275-$300 million. In order to survive, JDSU needs to make some drastic moves. It’s palming off a factory in China to contract manufacturer Sanmina-SCI. In doing so, JDSU get to slash 2,200 jobs, about a third of its entire employee base, according to RBC Capital Markets’ Mark Sue. About 2,000 of those folks are going to be now working for Sanmina-SCI, doing precisely what they were doing except will not be paid by JDSU. “Another 150 employees will remain JDSU employees and will focus on corporate functions and product development in the region. Sanmina-SCI will use the same equipment, the same lines, the same people and the same processes as when the fab was under JDSU ownership to support JDSU customers,” a company spokesperson tells us.

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Forbearance Can Impact Telecom Choices

Om Malik — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:53:44 +0000

Its been almost eleven years when the Telecom Act of 1996 was announced with much fanfare. It promised a telecom revolution, and instead it got a Bubble, Broadbandits and a battle of the lobbyists. And as they years passed, incumbents neutered it beyond recognition, leaving it toothless and lifeless, much like the royal family of a fallen colonial power. Sure there were some things that microscopically-tilted in favor of the small, independent carriers, but even those are at risk now.

Verizon has petitioned FCC to give it forbearance relief in six major markets from certain wholesale requirements, specifically “unbundled network element” (UNE) discounts it must still provide to competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs). What this means is that Verizon wants to stop selling high-capacity DS-1 and DS-3 connections because it feels competitors are using Verizon’s infrastructure to compete for the enterprise customers.

According to FCC, under the Telecom Act of 1996, “the Commission is required to forbear from any statutory provision or regulation if it determines that the regulation is not needed to protect consumers or to ensure just and reasonable rates and practices by carriers.” Verizon wants FCC to stop applying UNE rules in major metros like New York, Philadelphia and Boston. Verizon has been fighting UNE for sometime. UNE allows competitors to buy “network elements” on a cost-basis. FCC is supposed to decide on this on December 5th.

If FCC approves Verizon’s petition, then basically the competition in local loop in those six regions is going to be decline sharply and that is bad news for smaller CLECs such as Covad and XO Communications. These companies rely on UNE to provide alternative broadband and phone service options.

CLECs are worried that Verizon is going to use any gains from this petition and stamp out competition in other regions such as California and Texas. CLECs have set-up a website, FreeToCompete. Blair Levin, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus, an investment bank, and an expert on FCC doesn’t believe that Verizon is going to get what it is wishing for and only small parts of Verizon’s petitions might be granted.

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JDSU to Cut 33 Percent of Its Workforce

Forbearance Can Impact Telecom Choices