Bankrupt telephone company MCI on Friday said it plans to cut 4,000 jobs, citing the need to reduce costs because of increased competition and the impact of a regulatory crackdown on telemarketing.
The Ashburn, Virginia company said the cuts amounted to about 7 percent of its workforce. It also plans to shut down three call centres in Denver, Phoenix, and Niles, Ohio.
Jobs from other areas in Alpharetta, Georgia; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Springfield, Montana will also be eliminated, the company said.
"As a result of the impact of federal and state 'Do Not Call' laws, as well as ongoing telecom market trends, we need to take this action in order to improve our overall cost structure," the company said in a statement, adding it will have little impact on customer service.
US regulators made it illegal for telemarketers to call phone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry since last October.
MCI has also strongly opposed the Do Not Call list, arguing that it would make it more difficult to lure customers away from their existing local phone providers.
MCI, formerly known as WorldCom, is expected to emerge from bankruptcy in April. Saddled with a heavy debt load, the company has attempted to sell off assets. After it emerges from bankruptcy, the company has estimated its debt load will be about $5 billion, down from over $30 billion.
It's former Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers has pleaded innocent to federal charges that he orchestrated an $11 billion accounting fraud, the largest in US history.
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