Canadian Government Finally Interested in Nortel: Too Little, Too Late

So, let’s understand the situation properly: the Canadian government has essentially watched on the sidelines as Nortel (NRTLQ.PK) continues on a steady path towards implosion (aka the sales of its assets), and a dramatically smaller footprint in Canada.

But now the House of Commons finance committee wants to summon Nortel senior executives so they can talk about why their have continued to be eligible for large bonuses (aka KEIP), while the company has eliminated employees without severance and slashed its pension plans.

Boys, this is a classic case of too little, too late. If the Canadian government really wanted to help Nortel, it would have stepped in a long time ago rather than waiting until the patient was on death’s doorstep. It’s not like Nortel’s demise is a new story that suddenly demands federal government attention. And it’s not like the government has stepped in a major way to protect jobs at the auto makers.

The silver lining is the federal government is looking at way to help former Nortel employees facing huge tax bills because of the way their stock options are being treated.

Source: The Ottawa Citizen

Comments

[Taoufik:]

Canada should learn from americans ... how they did for GM.

Jun 03 10:04 AM

[serge9:]

all those people, CEOs, Gov. officials, ministers are their to fil thier Pockets, very few are their todo a real job and get a real results, the rest, they know how to play the game and screw every one else
to Bad that this has become the norme, no Honsty, no inegrity and Lots of Corruption, Imagine the X minister of Finance of Nortel Board of director what did he knew, what he did not tell, may be he did not care, he cared about his Pay and F The R

Jun 03 03:31 PM

[Elmer2:]

The research credits poured into Nortel since the mid 60s by Ottawa were huge. Canadians already have a very large investment in the company. It should be kept alive.

Jun 09 10:51 PM

[nari:]

1 job in service sector affects about 160 jobs up/down streams.
1 job in durable manufacturing sector affects about 340 jobs up/down streams. Government may consider this in prioritize what action to take first. Anyway, to upgrade digital infrasturcture in North America, Nortel has something to offer. Canadian government may need to keep this company alive (and reengineer it) for long term.

Jun 09 11:31 PM

[Far Side:]

I can not understand why this moron is allowed to continue performing as a CEO and being paid more than a $? Even a simpleton line manager at Nortel could have done better. I guess being a village bully and climbing up the ladder through intimidation and hood winking does pay off - see how his Motorola division is performing when he left...

Jun 10 02:13 PM