Sprint announces layoffs, DSL cuts
By Reuters
July 12, 2002, 9:30 AM PT
Long-distance telephone company Sprint said Friday that it will cut about 1,200 positions and decommission certain high-speed data platforms in some cities in an effort to cut costs amid the telecommunications industry slowdown.
The company said the cuts in its Global Markets Group will actually affect 1,100 employees. It said they are being made to better position its long-distance organization. The cuts will be implemented over the next several weeks and are not expected to have a material impact on 2002 financial results and cash requirements.
The group will integrate Sprint's E-Solutions Web-hosting sales, mobile-computing consulting, marketing, product and sales support capabilities into Sprint Business, while integrating its customer and technical service operations into Network Services.
The company also said it will decommission, through the Global Markets Group only, the high-speed data (or DSL) platform in cities where Sprint has found a better way to deliver service via an alternative platform or where the high access and infrastructure costs make it difficult to continue service. It said this action does not impact DSL sales and operations through Sprint's Local Telecommunications Division, which operates in 18 states.
"These actions...reflect a need to better unify GMG (Global Markets Group) sales teams and ensure that our valuable customers have streamlined access for total end-to-end solutions from Sprint," Len Lauer, president of Sprint's Global Markets Group, said in a statement.
