Verizon plans 1,661 job cuts at MCI call centers

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Verizon Communications plans to cut
1,661 jobs in four U.S. customer call centers by June 30 as
part of its plan to cut 7,000 jobs after its January purchase
of MCI, a spokesman said on Friday.

Regional and long-distance telephone operator Verizon has
about 250,000 employees. It said it expects to cut 7,000 jobs
in the three years after the MCI deal as part of its effort to
create more than $8 billion in savings.

The four affected call centers are in a suburb of Sioux
City, Iowa; in Austin, Texas, in Springfield, Missouri and in
Greenville, South Carolina, Verizon spokesman Bill Kula said.

He did not reveal the financial impact of the move but said
the employees would receive six weeks to six months severance
pay depending on how long they had worked at the company. He
said none of the employees affected were union members.

By June 30 Verizon plans to phase out the operation of the
centers where workers handle telephone inquiries from MCI’s
residential customers and make sales calls, Kula said.

Including the latest cuts it Verizon has now announced
2,000 cuts related to the post merger lay-off plan Kula said.

Verizon shares closed down 29 cents or almost 1 percent at
$33.03 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.