AT&T likely to cut 12,000 jobs

AT&T, the largest US phone company, will cut 12,000 jobs, striving to trim expenses as the US economy falters. The reductions amount to about 4% of the workforce, Dallas-based AT&T said on Thursday in a statement.

The company plans to record $600 million in expenses for severance this quarter. The reductions would bring AT&T’s total job cuts to more than 25,000 this year. The carrier and its smaller competitors are grappling with slowing consumer spending and a jobless rate at its highest level in 14 years.

AT&T fell 18 cents to $28.90 in early trading after closing at $29.08 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The carrier also plans to reduce spending next year to cope with the slowdown, with plans to give specific forecasts for 2009 spending plans in late January.

The carrier said its still adding jobs in its wireless and video units. In July, the company said it would eliminate 10,000 jobs to reduce overlap in some departments after its 2006 purchase of BellSouth Corp. Before that, the company announced 4,650 cuts, some in its home-phone business, which has lost customers to cable operators and wireless competitors.

Source: Agencies