Cabletron to Close Plants, Fire 600 Workers

Cabletron Systems Inc. said it will cut 600 jobs, or about 9% of its work force, and close plants as it tries to boost profitability in the face of lower-than-expected orders. The Rochester, N.H.-based maker of computer-network equipment warned three weeks ago that slowing orders would hurt earnings, sending its shares down 32% in one day. Cabletron reiterated it would take a $30-million charge to restructure. Cabletron was slower than its competitors to shift to new, faster technology for sending data around and between networks, analysts said, and management changes and acquisitions have added to concern. That allowed rivals such as Cisco Systems Inc. to lure away Cabletron’s customers, analysts said. Cabletron shares were unchanged at $14 on the NYSE. . . . In a separate development, Novell Inc. said it fired about 30 people, on top of 1,000 previous firings this year, as the Provo, Utah-based networking company continues its efforts to revive its business and gain ground from rival Microsoft Corp. Novel shares were unchanged at $7.75 on Nasdaq.