Alcatel to Slash U.S. Operations

French telecom equipment giant Alcatel, fresh off the collapse of merger talks with Lucent Technologies Inc., said it will cut 5.6% of its U.S. work force, or 905 jobs, and close three U.S. facilities because of tough business conditions in its largest single market.

The company plans to close laboratories in Milpitas, Calif., and Andover, Mass., that develop products for phone company networks, cutting 300 jobs and 125 jobs, respectively. A plant in Portland, Ore., that makes fiber-optic cables will also be shut, affecting 480 jobs.

The company, which runs its Americas operations from Dallas, has seven other facilities in the U.S.

The U.S. accounted for about 23% of Alcatel’s sales last year.