NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Lucent Technologies Inc. Thursday warned investors that it will fall short of Wall Street's fiscal third-quarter revenue expectations, sparking a selloff that sent its shares to an all-time low.

Before the U.S. markets opened, the telecommunications equipment maker said it expects revenue for the quarter to fall 10 percent to 15 percent from the $3.52 billion recorded in the second quarter.

For the most part, analysts had expected Lucent to match the $3.52 billion in revenue it reported for the second quarter, according to a survey conducted by research firm First Call.

When Lucent reported its second-quarter results in April, executives did not provide a specific third-quarter revenue forecast, citing continued weakness in capital spending by telecommunications service providers.

They did say they expected the third-quarter operating loss to narrow from the 14 cents per share reported in the second quarter. A company spokeswoman Thursday said Lucent may still achieve that goal, but added that it is too early to call, given current market conditions.

Shares of Lucent (LU: down $0.15 to $2.80, Research, Estimates) were down nearly 10 percent in New York Stock Exchange trading late Thursday afternoon, recovering slightly after touching an all-time low of $2.56.

Lucent, which has reported eight consecutive quarters of net losses, has been among the hardest hit by a sharp and sudden slowdown in capital spending by telecommunications service providers and large corporations over the past 18 months.

In response to the more difficult market conditions, Lucent has taken a number of restructuring steps, including cutting its work force in half, selling non-core businesses and eliminating money-losing products in an effort to return to profitability.

Lucent employed roughly 106,000 people in January 2001, when it began its restructuring plan, which included the recently completed spinoff of its former semiconductor unit, Agere Systems Inc.

At the end of March it employed 56,000 people. By the end of its fiscal year ending in September, Lucent said it expects to reach an employee base close to 50,000.

Lucent also said it continues to target a return to profitability and positive cash flow during fiscal 2003.

Separately, Lucent said its credit facility has been amended to give the company more flexibility in its efforts to return to profitability. Lucent said its lenders have agreed to allow the company to report losses for its fiscal fourth-quarter and the first quarter of the next fiscal year without violating its loan covenants.

Previously, Lucent was committed to reporting profits for those quarters. Violating the covenants would mean lenders could call in loans.