Lucent closes Chromatis

Lucent Technologies has shut down Chromatis Networks, the metro optical vendor acquired last year for $4.5 billion in stock.

The decision affects approximately 150 employees, mostly in Israel and some in Herndon,Va.

According to a spokesman for Lucent the decision to close Chromatis is part of the company’s ongoing restructuring program.

Lucent’s target customer--the large service provider--has not expressed significant interest in the Chromatis product, the Metropolis metroMSX, the spokesman said. The product, which was announced last June and is designed to handle IP, ATM and voice, has been shipped to only a handful of customers, he said.

Though Lucent is closing Chromatis, the spokesman stressed that the company’s other metro products remain intact. “We’re still going to offer WDM and next-generation SONET solutions.”

The company declined to provide a breakdown of cost savings from the shuttering of Chromatis. Lucent will take a charge in its fiscal fourth-quarter results from the decision. Though the exact amount of the charge has not been revealed, the spokesman said it will be included in the company’s previously announced $7 billion to $9 billion restructuring charge it plans to record for this quarter.