, the company has actively pursued markets in Asia and Latin America. The company has also sought growth via acquisition. In June 1998, Nortel bought Bay Networks, Inc. in a $7.7 billion deal. Bay Networks - itself the product of a difficult merger - had struggled to turn a profit and had little experience in the fast-growing public carrier market. Despite lower-than-expected growth in 1998, Nortel officials insisted they would make the merger work. The company cut 3,500 jobs worldwide and restructured operations. Nortel divided its data networking business into two units: one dealing with telephone companies and the other with corporate customers. A string of acquisitions continued through the end of the 1990s and into the new millennium, as Nortel grew ever larger and branched into new arenas such as fiber optics. The tech industry mess But by 2001, the telecom industry found itself pressured from all sides. The tech bubble had burst, and as dot-coms faded and companies reined in their spending on new technology amid a recession, telecommunications equipment makers, including Nortel, suffered. Nortel's revenue declined precipitously, from $30 billion in 2000 to $17 billion in 2001 - and has continued to fall, although not by nearly as much as it had previously. By the dawn of 2004, the company still hadn't fully recovered. For the year 2003, revenue slipped to $9.8 billion, compared to $10.5 billion for 2002. A new chief In November 2001, the company got a new chief executive, as John Roth stepped down from the post that month. Frank Dunn, who had been with the company in various roles since the late 1970s, assumed the CEO mantle and quickly began to slash jobs. He also began to outline a program aimed at restoring his beleaguered company to profitability. In May 2002, the company announced that it would realign its businesses. The company said it would seek to sell its unit devoted to parts for Visit Vault at www.vault.com for insider company profiles, expert advice, VAULT CAREER career message boards, expert 