Ranjeet Rayen & Sapna S.
BANGALORE: Alcatel’s only Internetworking division in India, located in
Bangalore, has closed operation. Formal announcement to this regard is expected
to follow by the end of this month. Reasons of its closure and other details
were not available.
A source said the firm had earlier announced its plans to close by
September-end. However, despite repeated calls and visits, the finance and
administration in-charge and Alcatel’s official spokesperson Cecilia D’Souza
was unavailable for comment.
The source said the company had warned its employees about the move and it is
believed that its entire strength of 60 odd people, except 15 engineers and a
few management staff have shifted to greener pastures.
Taking charge of Xylan Computers a couple of years ago, Alcatel had around 60
developers last year and had set up a sprawling office off Infantry Road. The
company has a telecommunication development center in Chennai, which will
reportedly continue to operate.
According to a former employee of the Internetworking division, four
developers had been absorbed by the firm’s US operations. The remaining staff
members were given a four-month notice period and matching salary, on the
condition that they submitted their resignation.
According to the source, the entire operations for lay-off commenced two
months ago. Though lack of funding has been officially cited as the reason for
the closure, rumors are doing rounds that the firm is planning to wind up the
unit with the hope of investing the available fund on another unnamed project.
Meanwhile, a casual visit to the Infantry road premises by the CIOL
correspondents revealed a near-empty office. A male receptionist at the desk
failed to provide any clue on the winding up. The gardener still waters the
plants in front of the office and Cecilia D’Souza, running the show with
around 15 employees including engineers, still make their ends meet.