Nortel cuts 20,000 more workers

Nortel expects to announce a $7.27 billion loss in the third quarter and said it would shrink its work force by almost 20,000 more jobs.

Nortel said it would cut 10,000 jobs, with the remainder eliminated through the sales of assets. The latest round of cuts will reduce its work force to 45,000. The company began the year with almost 95,000 employees. A Nortel Australia spokeswoman refused to discuss the local impact because "corporate policy is we do not provide a geographic breakdown".

"While the magnitude of the market adjustment from previous levels of expenditures has been challenging, we believe we are beginning to see some early signs that the expected capital spending by service providers is approaching sustainable levels," chief executive, John Roth, said in a release after stock markets closed.