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Technology Stocks : Newbridge Networks -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: zbyslaw owczarczyk who wrote (17843)	3/5/2000 10:14:00 PM
From: zbyslaw owczarczyk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18016

FP article Mar 4 "Hands off our talent " Saturday 4 March 2000 Hands off our talent Newbridge president Pearse Flynn isn't about to stand by and watch rivals poach his top-flight tech workers. In fact, he's intending to poach a few himself. Pauline Tam reports. Pauline Tam The Ottawa Citizen A pending change in ownership will not turn Newbridge Networks Corp. into prime feeding ground for competitors on the prowl for talented engineers and managers, says the president of the Kanata telecommunications equipment maker. Pearse Flynn sounded scrappy and defiant yesterday as he vowed to fight off rivals' efforts to poach Newbridge talent while the company settles into life as a division of the French-owned telecommunications giant Alcatel SA. In particular, he served notice on archrivals Nortel Networks Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. -- both embarking on ambitious hiring sprees -- of his intention to raid their brains trusts. "I can tell you that this is bad news for them," Mr. Flynn said in an interview. "I'm going to take their employees. I'm going to come after them. And I'm going to beat them in the marketplace." Mr. Flynn also took a swipe at the media, accusing them of "sensationalizing" reports about unpleasant fallout from some of Alcatel's previous acquisitions. Instead of mass firings, court battles and the early exit of key executives, Newbridge workers and shareholders should expect the corporate backing of a new owner with deep pockets, he suggested. What's more, Alcatel has signalled its intent to build the data-networking unit that will include Newbridge, said Mr. Flynn, who is tagged for the job of running the division. "We're going to be focussed, we're going to be headquartered in Kanata, we're going to be hiring in Kanata. This division in Kanata is projected to be the fastest-growing division within the whole Alcatel company. So I need to take (people) from Nortel. I need to take people from Cisco. "And I will get them." His combative mood leaves no doubt that the gloves are off in a raging talent war among the region's high-tech companies. Rapid expansions at Nortel and Cisco mean the firms are almost certain to take advantage of ownership changes at Newbridge to trawl for its best workers. Mr. Flynn insisted he's not fazed by the prospect, adding that his company is also in a growth phase and is looking to fill as many as 500 jobs worldwide. At the same time, he was quick to dismiss Cisco's plans to add 2,400 new positions to its Ottawa-area operations. "I'll believe it when I see it," he scoffed. To pre-empt strategic strikes on its talent pool, Newbridge has already started sweetening employee incentives. On the day of last month's takeover announcement, the company's 6,000 workers worldwide got an immediate five-per-cent pay increase -- with the promise of more to come. "We've made recent changes to peg our salaries on U.S. market data, not Canadian, because our competitors see Canada as a huge source of raw material," said Mr. Flynn. "So if the going rate for a (research and development) engineer is pegged by the rate that it is in California, then we have to pay that rate. "We're not going to be laggards in the market. We will be competitive." Newbridge is also offering employees an extra 10 per cent of their total salary as a "loyalty bonus" if they're still with the company one year after the close of the Alcatel deal. As for those all-important stock options, employees are expected to be able to exercise their unvested Newbridge options twice as fast as before the takeover was announced. Mr. Flynn also hinted that Alcatel stocks could eventually be issued to Newbridge employees, but he did not provide further details. The perks don't stop there. Fatter bonuses, worth as much as $8,000, are being offered to staff who successfully recommend friends for Newbridge jobs. To reward employees for their contributions, the company is running a year-long contest that allows winners to take turns driving a boxy red Hummer around town for two weeks at a time. The gestures might not be unique, but Mr. Flynn insisted they are having an effect. He gave the example of a former Newbridge manager who last week tried to lure away a team of 10 Newbridge staffers to a California company. According to Mr. Flynn, none of the employees took the offer. "I was actually very fond of the company that was doing this because it's something I'd like to do myself. I like that kind of guerrilla warfare." Mr. Flynn was also quick to dismiss suggestions that as a branch of Europe's second-largest phone-equipment maker, Newbridge will be forced into a rule-bound, bureaucratic corporate culture. "I'm not in any way worried about the fact that we're going to turn into a Nortel. I would hate to turn into a Nortel. I want Newbridge to be a fun place. I'm not interested in stuffed shirts," he said, adding that Alcatel has given him "total autonomy" to implement his business vision. "There's a big, big push within Alcatel to get more North American leadership into the company."