WiMAX vendor Alvarion said it is eliminating 11 percent of its 1,000 employees by the end of 2008 as a way to stay profitable and ride out a slow economy in 2009. The vendor also is cutting management salaries and will incorporate other cost-saving efforts the company said should result in annual cost of goods and operating expense savings of about $15 million. The moves will cost $3 million in a one-time charge in the fourth quarter.
During a conference call with analysts, CEO Tzvika Friedman said the company hasn't experienced any order cancellations but faces a combination of project delays, slow-down in deployments among existing customers and longer sales cycles in 2009. Greenfield operators are expected to face difficulty in raising capital.
"The spreading global recession cannot be ignored," Friedman said. "We're seeing capex reductions from various operators and sales cycles are lengthening in some cases. We have to balance the need to prepare for a difficult and uncertain environment with the need to find a way to achieve profitable growth anyway."
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