Level 3 Cutting 450 Jobs Before Years End

Monday was not a good day for telecom.

Alvarion Ltd. (ALVR) announced 110 job cuts early on in the day, and late in the afternoon, Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT) said it would have to shed 450 positions.

That amounts to 8 percent of the Colorado company’s workers.

The layoffs will take place before the end of December, so this will be a dismal holiday season for yet another set of telecom professionals and their families.

Level 3 will take a restructuring charge of $12 million to $15 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. The job cuts will take place across “multiple levels … and multiple locations in North America only,” Level 3 said in a press release.

Level 3’s news came the first work day after PAETEC said it also is eliminating positions — 222, all told.