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.