BellSouth eliminating nearly 800 jobs

The jobs being eliminated include technical workers and employees in repair center positions, collections and clerical work, BellSouth spokeswoman LeAnn Hansen said.

“Volume of work has decreased,” Hansen said. “Continuing economic pressures and changes in the telecom industry have led to the surplus.”

The largest number of cuts, 296, will come in Georgia. The rest will be spread among the other eight Southeastern states where Atlanta-based BellSouth is the dominant local phone provider.

Workers who lose their jobs will be able to reapply for 540 non-management open positions in the company, Hansen said.

Since 2000, BellSouth has shed about a fifth of its work force, amid a scramble to slash costs. It now has about 75,700 workers, down from more than 92,000.

Earlier this month, BellSouth agreed to sell its stake in 10 Latin American operations to a wireless unit of Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica SA for about $4.2 billion in cash and an additional $1.5 billion in debt.

In Monday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, BellSouth shares fell 48 cents to close at $26.97.
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