MCI WorldCom to Cut Up to 3,700 Jobs, 5% Workforce, WSJ Says
Bloomberg News
December 9, 1998, 10:34 p.m. PT
New York, Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- MCI WorldCom Inc., the
second-largest U.S. long-distance phone company behind AT&T Corp.
based on sales, will announce this week it is cutting as many as
3,700 jobs, or 5 percent of its workforce, to reduce costs, the
Wall Street Journal Europe reported, citing unnamed ''people
close to the situation.'' The cuts are part of a $2.5 billion
cost-reduction program announced earlier and will be at low and
mid-level positions where roles have been duplicated since the
merger of WorldCom and MCI three months ago. The company will
also cut back on overhead costs, such as perks and travel
expenses, paying particular attention to the former MCI's side of
the business, which analysts say had become fat over recent
years, the WSJ said.
MCI WorldCom passed rival AT&T Corp. in market value this
week, as MCI WorldCom's shares rose on expectations the company
will grow faster than its older rival.
(Wall Street Journal Europe 12/10 p.12 )
--Michael Bleby in the London newsroom (44 171) 330-7041/pg |
