Telecoms equipment giant Nortel Networks has shocked stock markets by firing its chief executive, and slashing its 2003 earnings in half because of an accounting probe.
The shake-up rocked a company which has steadily fallen from grace, after heady days as Canada's most valuable firm at the height of the hi-tech boom.
Nortel said it was firing president and CEO Frank Dunn 'for cause' and replacing him with William Owens, a former vice-chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff who commanded the US Sixth Fleet during Desert Storm.
Former chief financial officer Douglas Beatty and former controller Michael Gollogly, both of whom had been placed on paid leave of absence on March 15, were also 'terminated for cause', the company said in a statement.
Four other finance executives have been placed on paid leave of absence as an independent review continues.
'The Board of Directors believes that the actions announced today are about accountability for our financial reporting,' said chairman Lynton Wilson.
The firm said in the statement that it would make a cut of around 50% in its previously announced profits for 2003. Nortel also said it would restate its financial results for 2001 and 2002 and delay the release of its first-quarter report for 2004 following a review by the company's audit committee.
Nortel recorded a net loss of $27.3 billion for 2001 after the telecoms spending bubble burst the preceding year and has been struggling ever since. But it reported a net profit of $732m for 2003.
Nortel has operations in Galway, Dublin and Belfast.
