Alcatel-Lucent, S.A. Message Board

Yes, it was so much better when ALU was losing billions upon billions......shame on Ben for developing LightRadio, the FP3 chip, the core router, ending countless loss making product lines.....all of which, and more, placed ALU on the cusp of profitability

You talk as if 4 years is a long time when it comes to repairing a very, very bad merger.

Let me help you out here. All of the above cost a lot of money....firing employees is very costly (as the employees targeted are high cost employees in western countries), closing out product lines, R&D for new critical products, ending leases, etc...all in an environment of global economic meltdown, and extreme competition from much lower cost companies like ZTE, Huawei, and ERIC. So the money that ALU has, and then some, is committed.

The easy way out would have been for the company to sell 5 billion shares at 75 cents a share, thus raising needed funds AND massively diluting the stock, to fund the change. Instead, management is doing its best to raise money through conventional and innovative ways in an effort to avoid dilution or worse.

What you should wish for is that the merger never took place....which would have found LU in bankruptcy, and Alcatel little better off. But wishing for that is a bit like singing happy songs around the campfire, or employing false enthusiasm.....to dispel concerns about ALU.

What does not make sense is to blame the one guy...Ben...who has accomplished a tremendous amount while simultaneously protecting the shareholders.....all on a shoestring budget relative to a vast array of needs...all of which cost money.

He blames it all on Europe