Alcatel-Lucent CEO, Chair to Quit After 6th Straight Loss

Patricia Russo, the CEO who led the merger of Alcatel-Lucent, will step down by the end of the year after the troubled telecom giant released yet another grim quarterly report, posting a net loss of $1.73 billion. That figure was much larger than analysts had predicted, and almost double the loss from the same quarter last year, writes the New York Times. The company's chairman will also resign.

Investors have grown restless with management at the Franco-American telecom; Alcatel-Lucent hasn't made a profit since its formation 2 years ago. This quarter's loss resulted largely from a $1.27 billion writedown from an American division specializing in mobile technology. Alcatel-Lucent put a brave face on the departure of both CEO and chairman, saying, "The merger phase is now behind us." (More CEO stories.)