Nortel Networks Reviews in Raleigh-Durham, NC Area

Pros

Salaries at Nortel Networks were above average and the company was very friendly to telecommuters if your position made that possible. But for the last 10 years, those are the only 2 nice things anyone could say about Nortel.

Cons

Beginning with the .com crash, Engineers at Nortel went from being a cherished asset to being hourly supervised workers except without the hourly overtime pay. The level of work that the management demanded meant 10-12 hour days on the average and about 2 weekends a month. If engineers balked at that, it was ominously hinted at that they were "not team players" and were probably on the list for the next round of never ending layoffs.The best and brightest engineers left in droves and those that were left were micromanaged almost to death and made to feel like peons. Then they canceled the Pension plan , gave no raises for a full 8 years (except of course for the Senior Management), and provided progressively shabbier health/dental/vision plans. Then, when everyone thought it couldn't get worse, they declared bankruptcy and reneged on everyone's promised severance package and threw thousands of good engineers out into the worst depression since the 1930s.

Advice to Senior Management

There was no discernible leadership at Nortel so it would be pretty hard to think of advice to give them.

Pros

There used to be opportunities and the history of innovation and opportunities were exciting. The talent at Nortel is amazing. The pay is very good compared to other industries and markets.

Cons

The expectation of cutting 80,000 people, but only a tiny percentage of the actual work they did over the past 8 years has worn out the employees and rended sucess virtually impossible. Even when Nortel was at its best, the environment was fiefdoms and highly political, it was about who you know.

Advice to Senior Management

If leaders had actually focused on the company instead of their own personal agenda, the company would have had a chance.

Pros

Strong work / life balance.
Good people to work with.
Exciting and challenging product and business opportunities.
Fair compensation based on work.

Cons

Senior management lacked strategic vision and willingness to execute.
Middle management more concerned about keeping their own jobs than how to build business.

Advice to Senior Management

Make a decision based on carefully, tough analysis, and then actually do something. Determine what you want to be and then expecute.

Pros

Challenging, interesting work
Good compensation
Great work/life balance
Talented, professional colleagues

Cons

Since joining Nortel in mid-2006, I have been through numerous rounds of layoffs and organizational restructurings. Of course that's nothing compared to those who have been around since before the tech bubble burst. Recently the CEO announced that they are looking to sell off all divisions and there are no plans for a viable "Nortel" entity to emerge from the Ch. 11 filing. A 114 year old tech giant, just 10 short years removed from their financial peak, now on the verge of failing completely. Utterly tragic.

Advice to Senior Management

Give the millions of dollars you've made off of Nortel to those who were laid off without severance, the pensioners who are owed, and the rest to charity.

Pros

Flexible schedule, work from home capability, some exciting work to be done.

Cons

Executive Leadership Team says one thing and does another. They talk integrity but don't walk the walk.
At this point Nortel's a meat grinder chewing up the people that are left.

Advice to Senior Management

Be open and honest with the employees. Stop talking about how much cash is on hand when it's tied up offshore and unavailable.

Pros

The people you work with are competent and know there area fairly well as they have been working for Nortel for a long time. The pay and benefits are fine.

Cons

Senior management has really handed a pretty terrible deal to the people doing the work. I know one person who when their boss left had to lay herself off. Multiple people have been left without a safety net and then Sr Management is still getting bonuses! I realized that my role was to figure out how to do nothing...we could not afford to do any new work. What a lousy way to go through life.

Advice to Senior Management

I think this will fall on deaf ears, but a simple mea culpa that we messed up and we didn't do what we said we would do would go a long way. Some focus on the individuals that have been left without a transition plan would be greatly appreciated.

Pros

Strong R&D DNA
Global market presence

Cons

Fair amount of program churn
Lack of consistency and alignment between the "stated" strategy and execution
Bankruptcy has diluted any willingness and capability to transact business

Advice to Senior Management

Completing a Chapter 7 proceeding is in the best interest of the shareholders, bondholders, remaining employees

Pros

Lots of talented professionals at analyst& specialist (non-management) level.
IT infrastructure: secure & efficient networking; VoIP; integration between multiple devices - telephone, computer, etc; technical support; mobility (e.g. home office).
Lots of opportunities for starting and implementing new business initiatives (new processes, reports, business).
Diversity: people from everywhere, every type; good interchange of knowledge, skills.

Cons

Lack of continuity: everything changes when there is a change at senior management level; this also includes good and necessary processes established and running at steady state way after long and arduous implementation job.
Executives and senior management lack of real business making skills, knowledge and objectiveness.
People's morale (due to current chapter 11 environment)

Advice to Senior Management

Put focus and effort on meaningful and objective business management strategies, practices and metrics. Drive cash making initiatives.

Pros

Nortel has offered very competitive salaries, in spite of it financial woes. Nortel offered several career development programs and Cost Reduction initatives such as Six Sigma and Business Transformation.

Cons

The company has been in financial distress for the last 8 years. The continuous layoffs since 2000, demotivated employees or created a cut throat environment which resulted in lack of togetherness and less productivity.

Advice to Senior Management

Please keep communication open and recognize employees more. Management needs to be more honest and upfront about employee performance and should always continue to help their teams in spite of company issues.

Pros

Most co-workers were extremely competent. The dedication and loyalty of the employees is amazing considering the depressed environment. The company used to be a great place to work with lots of perks and possible too many perks.

Cons

Geez, where to begin? The current CEO cost the company millions of dollars when he took over because of a non-compete disclosure and this was at a time the company could not afford to spend a lot of money. I still haven't seen any results that justify that spend. The executive team is constantly changing and with each change in leadership the employees of the company would have to repeat the mistakes of the previous leadership. There is no way to convey to the leadership that their "grand ideas" were tried numerous times before without success. There is no consistent governance over spending and expenses. Some groups within the company are allowed to spend large amounts of money, generally on unnecessary expenses while other groups are having to dip into their personal finances to buy necessary supplies. The executive team is costing the company too much money as they continue to spend on their own projects without regard to whether or not the end product is economical or essential for the company. Even in the "glory days" the company allowed too many individual groups within the company to develop unnecessary projects, especially IT, without an oversight committee to review the need or duplicity of the project. The office environment is like a morgue, especially since the massive layoffs. People don't acknowledge each other when passing in the hallway. One rarely hears laughter anymore and it is very sad to see a once vibrant company turned into such as grim place.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to the employees, especially the ones that have been with the company several years. Don't think just because something worked at another company that the same thing with work for Nortel. This is a company on life support and your employees are your best asset and should be treated as such instead of a liability. Stop wasting the company's time and money on projects that have failed in the past. Use your creative ability and think out of the box on this one. It will take extraordinary measures to pull this company out of the abyss.