Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 19, 1993 TAG: 9308190052
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BUFFALO, N.Y. LENGTH: Medium
And AT&T said Wednesday that technological advances will cause it to cut up to one-quarter of its operators between April 1994 and early 1995. American Telephone & Telegraph said 3,000 to 4,000 out of its 17,000 operators could lose their jobs, although many will be offered other positions.
The company will close 40 offices in 26 states as it consolidates work into large centers in six cities.
Kodak, the leading maker of photography products, became the latest big U.S. industrial enterprise to slash staff and spending in order to improve profitability in a slow economy.
Analysts who follow the company said the job cuts, announced Wednesday, amount to about 9 percent of Kodak's global work force.
The reductions were announced by outgoing Kodak Chairman Kay Whitmore, fired this month by board members dissatisfied with his efforts to reduce costs.
The plan outlined Wednesday was the same one that resulted in Whitmore's ouster, said R. Jackson Blackstock, a securities analyst with First Boston Corp.
Kodak, which plans to replace Whitmore with an executive from outside the company, probably will hire someone who will make more drastic cuts, Blackstock said.
Company spokesman Ron Roberts said Kodak's board had approved Whitmore's cost-cutting plan, but whoever replaces Whitmore might make changes.
The company eliminated 2,000 jobs early this year, mostly in Rochester, where Kodak is headquartered.
"Kodak is not a company in crisis," Whitmore said in a letter to shareholders. "At its core, Kodak remains a very strong company and intends to become stronger."
The job cuts will be spread throughout the company, which employs about 115,000 people worldwide. Company spokesman Paul Allen said the reductions would come through layoffs, attrition and possibly the sale of subsidiaries.
The plan would save $700 million in 1993, $1 billion in 1994 and $1.1 billion in 1995, Whitmore said.
Kodak stock closed Wednesday at $60.50 on the New York Stock Exchange, up 25 cents. Analysts said they were recommending Kodak stock to investors because the company was taking the right steps to improve profits.
AT&T's cuts follow the closing of 31 operator offices in 21 states that began in March 1992 and is to finish early next year. AT&T had said up to 6,000 jobs would be lost by that action, but it now estimates the number will reach only 2,000.
So far about 900 positions have been eliminated and about 70 percent of these people have found other jobs within the company, AT&T said.
The company attributed the cuts to its adoption of computers that recognize voice commands, which will go into service nationally next year. Also, more callers are dialing direct or using calling cards, AT&T said.
The announcement came two days after AT&T said it would acquire McCaw Cellular Communications Inc., the nation's largest cellular company, for $12.6 billion. Executives said that deal would not affect jobs at either company.
"We will offer a new job within AT&T to every affected employee who qualifies for an open position and is willing, if necessary, to relocate," said Dana Becker Dunn, an AT&T vice president.
The six operator mega-centers are in or near Charleston, W.Va.; Chicago; Dallas; Kansas City, Mo.; Philadelphia; and Phoenix, Ariz. Operators have been offered $6,000 incentives to move to all of those areas except Philadelphia, where the staffing level is adequate.
by CNB