Lucent employee hit hard by job cuts

A Lucent employee is reported to have "gone postal" on Tuesday after the company revealed further restructuring plans as part its initiative to shed 10,000 jobs.

A Swat team was called to the company's building in Massachusetts after staff members reported seeing a colleague, dressed in a black trench coat and carrying a duffel bag, threatening other co-workers. He is believed to have fled the scene with the police in hot pursuit.

Yesterday was the final day for employees to decide whether to take an offer of early retirement - those that did will be packing their bags on Friday.

Lucent is expected to reveal figures later this week. As part of its $2bn saving restructuring plan, the company said it is consolidating its five internal business divisions into two primary operating units.

These will comprise Mobility, which will consist mostly of the company's Wireless Networks Group; and Integrated Network Solutions, which will focus on data and optical networking, switching and software platforms.

"We're basically matching the way our customers buy around wireline and wireless segments," said a spokesperson.

The economic downturn has hit Lucent hard, with the company reporting a $3.7bn loss on sales of $5.9bn in the first quarter. Shares are currently down by about 21 cents, sitting at $6.14.