CTV Ottawa has learned Nortel will slash jobs at the company's Ottawa offices this Thursday as part of the first round of restructuring job cuts.

About 120 employees in Nortel's WiMAX division will get layoff notices this week, according to people working in the unit.

The move comes after Nortel shut down the division a couple of weeks ago in the company's first significant change since it underwent bankruptcy protection.

Nortel spokesperson Karen Monaghan said although layoffs are coming, she is unable to provide any specific details.

"We realize that this is a very difficult time for these employees . . . the reductions will be done in a respectful manner over the coming weeks and months, but until official announcements are made, I cannot give any specific information," Monaghan told CTV Ottawa.

Earlier, the company said the division was not part of their plan moving forward, so they would be shutting it down. About 500 people in Ottawa, Paris and Asia are employed in the WiMAX unit.

More job cuts are due in coming weeks and sources say 2,000 jobs could be lost in Ottawa alone.