Alcatel-Lucent R&D, sales teams to take a big hit

Nokia’s move to reduce global headcount post the Alcatel-Lucent deal will have a major impact on the latter’s India R&D and sales teams, which are overlapping with those of the Finnish telecom gear maker, people familiar with the matter said.

“This is an acquisition, not a merger. So, it is clear that Nokia will give prominence to its own employees. The major impact would be on Alcatel-Lucent’s India sales and marketing after this announcement, even as some impact is already visible with some senior executives leaving the company lately,” one person told ET.

Srini Sundararajan, who was leading Alcatel-Lucent’s India and South Asia business, left earlier this year to manage Samsung’s mobile network business in Southwest Asia. Another senior executive, Amajit Gupta, had left earlier to head Juniper Networks’ India & SAARC operations.