A U.S. bankruptcy court judge granted Avaya Inc approval on Friday to tap $425 million of the $725 million loan proposed to carry the telecommunications company through its restructuring, funds the company said were essential to continue operations. Avaya filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday to cut its debt of about $6 billion after efforts to sell its call center business and reach a consensual deal with creditors failed. "The company has taken a decisive step to rightsize its balance sheet," Pat Nash, one of the company's attorneys, told Judge Stuart Bernstein at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.