VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. HAD 203,000 employees on its payroll at the end of 2003 following a voluntary separation program, the fewest number of workers in the four-year history of the Fortune 100 company that was formed through the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE in 2000.
The No. 1 local phone company added approximately 5,000 employees at Verizon Wireless (3,000 jobs) and in the domestic telecom group (2,000 positions) in 2004. Verizon also has announced plans to hire between 3,000 and 5,000 new employees by the end of 2005 to build fiber networks to homes and businesses.
The company has not provided additional guidance about its workforce in 2005, but planned workforce reductions at other large phone companies suggest Verizon could make additional job cuts, particularly in shrinking divisions of the company. For example, SBC Communications Inc., the second largest local phone company, disclosed in a November SEC filing there could be more than 10,000 job cuts through the end of 2005.
Verizon’s big workforce reduction came in the fourth quarter of 2003 after the company announced a voluntary separation program to reduce costs, particularly in the shrinking domestic telecom group. More than 21,000 employees from the domestic telecom group, directories business, international operations and corporate staff accepted the offer, says Verizon spokesman Bob Varettoni.
Verizon CFO Doreen Toben said the company would achieve approximately $1 billion in annual pre-tax savings from the program. In 2004 earnings releases, Verizon reported the domestic telecom group alone realized more than $200 million in quarterly savings.
Telecommunications led the technology sector in job cuts (111,342) in 2003 and was on pace to be the leader in 2004, according to national outplacement firm, Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
— josh long
| Links |
| Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. www.challengergray.com SBC Communications Inc. www.sbc.com Verizon Communications Inc. www.verizon.com Verizon Wireless www.verizonwireless.com |
