NEW YORK, March 30 – Shares of Nortel Networks fell sharply after it said it won't meet the reduced profit forecasts set just a month ago, and now plans to eliminate 5000 more jobs on top of the 10,000 already cut since the start of 2001.
    In addition to revealing that profit and revenues for the first three months of the year are coming in even weaker than they seemed a month ago, Nortel also suggested that business conditions have become too difficult to make any worthwhile forecasts for the rest of 2001.
    "Given the poor visibility into the duration and breadth of the economic downturn and its impact on the overall market growth in 2001, it is not possible to provide meaningful guidance for the company's financial performance for the full year," said John Roth, president and CEO of Nortel Networks.