Tellabs: 'Au Revoir Miramar'
Tellabs Inc. (Nasdaq: TLAB; Frankfurt: BTLA) is closing its Miramar, Fla., facility and is laying off all 90 of its employees there, including about 37 engineers, Light Reading has learned.
What was first suggested to Light Reading as part of an April Fool's Day hoax has turned out to have a sliver of truth in it (see: Any Truth to the Humor?). Tellabs today notified the State of Florida that it will likely close the Miramar location and move its FTTP (fiber to the premises) development there to other locations in the company.
In a letter to the State of Florida's Reemployment and Emergency Assistance Coordination Team, a copy of which was obtained by Light Reading, Tellabs writes that it expects "this entire Miramar facility to close permanently" and that "all 90 employees will be terminated within the 14-day period beginning July 22, 2005."
Advanced Fibre Communications (AFC) first opened its doors in Broward County, Fla., in 1998 when it built a 12,500-square-foot facility that was mainly devoted to developing fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) and broadband products. Tellabs bought AFC last year, giving it both the Miramar facility and a stake in the fiber access business (see Tellabs & AFC: Together at Last!).
What will happen to the 90 employees that are getting the ax?
"They can apply for any open positions, and we may offer relocation to selected employees," says Tellabs spokesperson Ariana Nikitas.
She says the employees have already been notified, and some will have jobs in the next 60 days as operations are transferred to other Tellabs locations in Richardson, Texas; Naperville, Ill.; Vienna, Va.; and Petaluma, Calif.
Nikitas wouldn't rule out more remote facility closures. "It's too early to tell… That's the only one at this time."
A spokesman for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), Tellabs' largest FTTP customer, says the carrier won't comment on Tellabs except to say that it continues to be a supplier.
— Phil Harvey, News Editor, and Mark Sullivan, Reporter, Light Reading
What was first suggested to Light Reading as part of an April Fool's Day hoax has turned out to have a sliver of truth in it (see: Any Truth to the Humor?). Tellabs today notified the State of Florida that it will likely close the Miramar location and move its FTTP (fiber to the premises) development there to other locations in the company.
In a letter to the State of Florida's Reemployment and Emergency Assistance Coordination Team, a copy of which was obtained by Light Reading, Tellabs writes that it expects "this entire Miramar facility to close permanently" and that "all 90 employees will be terminated within the 14-day period beginning July 22, 2005."
Advanced Fibre Communications (AFC) first opened its doors in Broward County, Fla., in 1998 when it built a 12,500-square-foot facility that was mainly devoted to developing fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) and broadband products. Tellabs bought AFC last year, giving it both the Miramar facility and a stake in the fiber access business (see Tellabs & AFC: Together at Last!).
What will happen to the 90 employees that are getting the ax?
"They can apply for any open positions, and we may offer relocation to selected employees," says Tellabs spokesperson Ariana Nikitas.
She says the employees have already been notified, and some will have jobs in the next 60 days as operations are transferred to other Tellabs locations in Richardson, Texas; Naperville, Ill.; Vienna, Va.; and Petaluma, Calif.
Nikitas wouldn't rule out more remote facility closures. "It's too early to tell… That's the only one at this time."
A spokesman for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), Tellabs' largest FTTP customer, says the carrier won't comment on Tellabs except to say that it continues to be a supplier.
— Phil Harvey, News Editor, and Mark Sullivan, Reporter, Light Reading
