LINTHICUM, Md. -- CIENA® Corporation (NASDAQ:CIEN - News), a leading provider of intelligent optical networking systems and software, today announced a workforce reduction of approximately 450 employees, or approximately 17 percent of its workforce, as part of the Company's ongoing efforts to align its operations with the current telecom industry environment. "The past year has been a challenging one for all of us in the telecom industry, but challenge often leads to opportunity," said Gary Smith, CIENA's president and CEO. "As difficult as today's actions are for us as a company, CIENA is fortunate to be significantly better positioned, both financially and from a product offering perspective, than most, if not all of our competitors. We continue to support all of our product lines, delivering comprehensive next-generation networking solutions and superior service and support to our customers worldwide." CIENA estimates that the actions taken today will generate between $50 to $55 million in annualized cost savings, including approximately $25 to $30 million at the operating expense level, prior to restructuring-related charges. CIENA expects that the majority of the cost savings will be in place by the end of its fiscal fourth quarter, 2002. Affected employees will be paid through November 19, 2002 and will be eligible for additional severance packages, including outplacement assistance and training. The Company expects to record a restructuring charge of between $75 to $80 million in its fourth fiscal quarter associated with today's workforce reduction, lease terminations, non-cancelable lease costs and the write-down of certain property, equipment and leasehold improvements. Ciena Corp.