NEW YORK, NY July 30, 2001 — It's too early for the lunch rush at Gio's Cucina Di Mare Restaurant. But it's busy in the kitchen, where a line chef peels hard boiled eggs. The restaurant is located in a hotel, about two miles from Lucent Technologies' sprawling campus. Owner Georgette Mandarakas says Lucent often held its meetings and parties here during the high-tech boom years. She was not surprised when the boom went bust.

Georgette Mandarakas: We knew something was going on. The past two years….Christmas parties have been for lunch, in the dining room. That's an indication right there.

Then came a steady rollout of poor corporate earnings reports for Lucent. Since January, the company's cut nineteen thousand jobs….some through attrition and voluntary retirement, most through layoffs. Four thousand of those jobs were in New Jersey. Now, after announcing over three billion dollars in losses in its third quarter, Lucent will trim an additional 20-thousand jobs. Ms. Mandarakas says Lucent is holding fewer meetings in her restaurant.

Georgette Mandarakas: Now, most of the luncheons that they have are conducted in the dining room to cut costs…and they're generally celebrating someone's retirement.

But she says her lunch and dinner business is still brisk. And while the hotel has seen a fifty percent drop in its Lucent clients, its occupancy rate is still high. Just like the rest of the country, consumer confidence here is still pretty solid, despite layoffs and turbulent stock prices.

Receptionist: Good afternoon, Gibralter Securities.

Being mayor of Berekely Heights is a part time job for Michael Chait. His real job is vice president of sales at Gibralter Securities. Lucent, with its 180-acre campus, is the township's biggest taxpayer. While Lucent has scaled back a few of its community programs, Mayor Chait says company officials told him there's no plan to leave.

Michael Chait: In my opinion, an acre of land in Berkeley Heights is probably worth close to a million dollars. I mean, if it came to that, they have a lot of real estate value that they could turn over. But I don't think we're -- they're going in that direction at all.

And, he says, employees aren't leaving, either. Realtors say there's still more people who want to move into these leafy, sleepy hamlets than want to move out. But that may change, once Lucent starts the job cuts in September.

At the Berkely Heights Mall -- a little strip of grocery stores, coffee shops and offices -- Elizabeth Baber says she thinks the process has already begun.

Elizabeth Baber: Just from being at local salons, and talking to the women, it's a great time to buy a house in Berkeley Heights, that's for sure.

She and her family moved to the area two years ago, but they've asked a realtor to appraise their house. Like many people here, she has friends who work at Lucent. Some took a severance package and left; others are taking their chances, and wondering what to do next. Frank Cavallo, who also works in the tech industry, has advice for those facing an unexpected retirement, or a pink slip.

Frank Cavallo: You know, I've been downsized a few times himself, and the truth is, you have to look at it as opportunity to do better somewhere else. Otherwise, it crushes you.

Outside Lucent headquarters, twenty-year employee Marshall Chanzit does not describe the mood inside as "crushed."

Marshall Chanzit: Certainly, people have concerns at different levels…But, I -- the people I know, the people I interface with? Generally are forward looking people.

He think Lucent will turn itself around, and he apologizes for being upbeat. Mr. Chanzit explains that he just left an exciting meeting on performance measurement tools for e-business. His area of specialty….an area, he says, in which Lucent is a leader.

45/Marshall Chanzit: So ask me the day that something bad happens to me, maybe I'll feel a little bit different. But, uh….I am actually pretty optimistic.

For WNYC, I'm Amy Eddings, in Murray Hill, New Jersey.

• Listen in Real Audio