Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 14, 1994 TAG: 9401140186
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DALLAS LENGTH: Medium
The move will affect about 25 percent of the phone-related jobs at GTE, the nation's largest local phone company, which also is taking a $1.8 billion charge against fourth-quarter profits.
The job reductions - to be carried out over three years, mostly through layoffs - are similar to, but bigger than, those made at several regional Bell operating companies. Those companies also face the end of their monopolies on local phone service as advances in wireless phoning and computers make traditional regulatory barriers meaningless.
"Technology is driving our industry," said Charles Lee, GTE's chairman and chief executive officer. "No matter what the legislature, the administration or the regulators do, we're going to have a competitive marketplace in the not-too-distant future. And we have to have competitive costs."
GTE, based in Stamford, Conn., employs 130,000 overall. The company provides phone service in 7,500 communities in 31 states, two Canadian provinces and the Dominican Republic. Its customers are in areas not served by the regional Bells. It also publishes 900 telephone directories and provides cellular phone service.
The cuts are expected to save the company $1 billion annually.
GTE said it will reduce customer-service and regional network centers around the country from 195 to 13 and will trim its many toll-free numbers around the country to just a few.
And GTE will set up a system for consumers to pay their bills through a home computer, as well as make most repairs while customers are on the phone.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents many GTE workers, denounced the action. President John J. Barry acknowledged all jobs couldn't be saved, but said workers have been willing to help raise productivity and cut labor costs.
by CNB