ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 3, 1996 TAG: 9601030094
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
When AT&T coughs, the rest of the telephone industry does not necessarily catch a cold. But when the industry leader says it will cut 40,000 jobs, as it did Tuesday, that sends a shiver through telephone operators and cable splicers everywhere.
Several analysts said AT&T Corp.'s dramatic action also portended a fresh round of cutbacks at the seven regional Bell telephone companies, which have cut tens of thousands of workers from their payrolls since they were spun off from AT&T in 1984.
``The next wave of cuts is going to come as the Bells jockey to compete with AT&T,'' said Mark Bruneau, president of Coba MID, a telecommunications consulting firm in Boston.
As the Bells prepare to square off against AT&T, Bruneau predicted, several of them will link up in mergers or other combinations to extend their reach. And if they join forces, they will discover they can cut jobs in overlapping areas such as human resources, corporate planning and product design.
LENGTH: Short : 29 linesby CNB