Sprint PCS Cuts Another 69 Jobs

Copyright 2002 Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Copyright 2002 The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star...04/09/2002
From LexisNexis

By Suzanne King
from BroadbandWeek Direct - April 9, 2002

Sprint PCS laid off an additional 69 employees Monday. The jobs were eliminated from the wireless carrier's network operations division. 

Spokesman Dan Wilinsky said 46 of the employees worked in Lenexa or Overland Park.

The others were scattered throughout the country. Employees in network operations install and maintain equipment, monitor network capacity and work on network planning. 

Since October Sprint Corp. has laid off 7,500 employees and contractors, including more than 3,000 in the Kansas City area. 

In all, the 80,000-employee company has announced 11,000 job cuts, including more than 3,700 in the Kansas City area. Still more layoffs have occurred quietly. 

Monday, Wilinsky acknowledged that 130 PCS network operations positions were eliminated in February or March. Those job cuts, including employees and contractors, were made in an effort to remove a layer of management, Wilinsky said. 

"We're trying to get people who actually do the work closer to senior management," he said. 

Wilinsky would not say whether the company was planning additional layoffs. 

"We are continuing to assess and re-evaluate our situation," he said. 

Sprint is expected to announce its first-quarter financial results April 15. The company's annual shareholder meeting is scheduled for April 16.