Lucent to Take Charge, Cut Jobs

Lucent Technologies Inc., the biggest maker of phone equipment, will report today its first drop in quarterly sales and announce job cuts and a restructuring charge. Last month, the company reduced for a third time its sales and earnings outlook for the first quarter ended Dec. 31. Excluding goodwill and other acquisition costs, Lucent said it expects a first-quarter loss of 25 cents to 30 cents a share on a 20% drop in sales. A year earlier, the company earned $1.1 billion, or 33 cents, on sales of $7.91 billion, Lucent said. The company will eliminate as many as 10,000 jobs, or about 10% of its work force of 105,000, said Tom Lauria, an analyst at ING Baring Securities Inc., who has a “hold” rating on Lucent. Shares of the Murray Hill, N.J.-based company fell 81% last year. The stock fell 25 cents to $18.81 on the New York Stock Exchange.